Supporting the fight against COVID-19
From the outset of the crisis our laboratories in Milton Keynes were at the forefront of the national COVID-19 testing effort. As one of several Lighthouse Laboratories, we analysed several million swab samples as part of NHS Test and Trace - the largest diagnostic network the UK has ever seen.
After being commissioned by the UK Government to provide this service, we repurposed existing laboratories and built new ones to provide the capacity required to analyse swab samples at scale.
Initially an army of volunteer scientists tested swabs manually whilst helping us develop a wholly automated process. Now liquid handling robots and other kit and machinery fill our laboratories.
During September and October 2020 we installed new robots and enhanced some of the manual processes to safely build in more capacity.