Intelligent Fingerprinting Scales Manufacturing Capacity in Preparation for Commercialisation of the World’s First Portable Fingerprint-Based Drug Screening System
Intelligent Fingerprinting, the Cambridge-based company developing the world’s first portable fingerprint-based drug screening system, has scaled its manufacturing capacity ten-fold over the last year in readiness for the commercialisation of the unique drug screening system.
The first product of its kind in the world, Intelligent Fingerprinting’s portable Drug Screening System is easy to use, non-invasive, and works in under 10 minutes by analysing the tiny traces of sweat in a fingerprint. Since moving to the new 11,000 sq ft Cambridge premises in 2015, Intelligent Fingerprinting has continued to expand R&D and manufacturing facilities and recruit additional staff.
Over the last year, the company has successfully scaled the manufacturing capacity of its innovative drug test Cartridges, and further scale-up will be achievable without additional capital investment by adding more production staff. Intelligent Fingerprinting has also supported the transition towards manufacturing process automation with investments including the latest BioDot™ reel-to-reel production technology, automating the printing and laminating of test material for its specialist sample collection Cartridges
“Our Cambridge HQ facility was designed from the outset for high throughput manufacturing, and we now have a first phase operation in place that can support production requirements following commercialisation,” commented Intelligent Fingerprinting’s CEO, Dr Jerry Walker. “Additionally, following our recent announcement of a further £3 million of funding, we’re in a position to introduce further production and automated assembly enhancements as we scale our manufacturing to commercial volumes and reduce unit costs.”
Intelligent Fingerprinting’s in vitro diagnostic medical device development, design and manufacturing process is already certified to ISO 13485, the internationally recognised standard for medical device quality management. With appropriate regulatory approval, the Intelligent Fingerprinting Drug Screening System can be used in many environments, at any time, to support a range of applications, including drug rehabilitation programmes, tackling drug use in prisons, police initiatives, coroner services, as well as establishing fitness for duty in safety-critical workplaces such as the transport and construction industries.
About Intelligent Fingerprinting
Intelligent Fingerprinting’s unique fingerprint-based portable Drug Screening System is set to revolutionise the way drug screening is carried out across a range of sectors. The distinctive Intelligent Fingerprinting technology, which works by analysing sweat from a fingerprint sample, enables non-invasive, cost-effective screening for multiple drug groups in under 10 minutes.
Intelligent Fingerprinting has attracted worldwide interest in its technology from a wide range of drug-screening markets, including the criminal justice arena, drug rehabilitation centres, prisons and occupational health services. The technique has potential for many other uses, including healthcare diagnostics and homeland security applications.
The company’s ground-breaking technology detects drug use by analysing chemicals, known as metabolites, contained in the minute traces of sweat found in a fingerprint. (Metabolites are chemicals produced by the body as a result of normal metabolic processes.) The Intelligent Fingerprinting Drug Screening System looks for the presence of specific drugs or drug metabolites in the test subject’s fingerprint sweat sample and, if detected, identifies which drugs have been consumed.
Since 2012, Intelligent Fingerprinting has raised £11.23m in funding from a consortium of private UK- and US-based investors, as well as government funding for pilot studies within the UK’s National Health Service and coroners’ services.
Founded in 2007, Intelligent Fingerprinting is a spin-out company from the University of East Anglia (UEA). The company is based in Cambridge, England and currently employs 26 people.
