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Partner Brokering event aims to stimulate innovation in health promoting foods...more Institute Launched Fourth Spin-out Company in Five Years.......more Grampian Food Forum Innovation Awards 2006. Rowett sponsors healthy eating, food or drink award.....more Launch of new health drink welcomed by Rowett and Deputy Rural Affairs Minister......more Reducing methane production from ruminant animals – project update New Genomia seed fund makes first award to Rowett Research Services.....more Appetite control study looks for volunteers.....more Clot-busting drink to reach supermarket shelves in Spring 2005.....more Sponge pudding wins healthy eating product award.....more RRS links with Scottish Institutes to develop new business opportunities.....more Rowett Supports Grampian Food Awards.....more Friendly bacteria offer routes to new anti-inflammatory drugs.....more RRS - Commercialising the science at the Rowett Open Day.....more SMART success for Rowett spin out company.....more The Royal Society of Edinburgh funds innovative healthcare research at Aberdeen's Rowett Research Institute.....more Rowett Research Services Ltd signs deal with Haptogen Ltd to access new display technology.....more Putting a break on belching cows.....more

New Genomia seed fund makes first award to Rowett Research Services Rowett Research Services has secured an early stage investment of £56,000 from the Genomia Seed Fund. This is the first investment made by the Genomia Fund, and will support the pre-clinical development of new treatments for stroke and Alzheimer’s disease, based on novel antioxidant compounds. The Genomia Fund has been established by funding of £1.5M from the Office of Science and Technology, Public Sector Research Exploitation Fund and is dedicated to supporting early stage commercial development of life science research from institutes.... more

Appetite control study looks for volunteers A study to look at the potential of a new drink to help people control their weight and appetite is about to get underway at RRS. The drink replaces a mid morning snack and can help to reduce hunger and the amount we eat at lunchtime. RRS is currently looking for 20 healthy male volunteers between 20 and 50 to help with the study. Volunteers will be asked to say what they eat and how they hungry they feel after having the drink. Download pdf

Clot-busting drink to reach supermarket shelves in Spring 2005 A juice drink containing a patented natural fruit extract which has been proven in human trials to benefit the circulation will soon be available on supermarket shelves. The heart-healthy drink - the first of its kind - is based on an extract from ripe tomatoes, the activity of which was discovered at Aberdeen’s Rowett Research Institute. Provexis Limited followed-up this discovery with a four year programme of research to develop and clinically test a patented ingredient called CardioFlow®. Today, (Wednesday 22nd September 2004) Provexis Ltd and Nutrinnovator Holdings plc announced a joint venture which will make the drink available in the UK in late spring 2005. download pdf

	Sponge pudding wins healthy eating product award A raspberry and cranberry oat sponge pudding is this year’s winner of the Rowett Institute Award for a healthy eating food product. The award was presented to Jill Adron from Tilquhillie Puddings of Banchory at the Grampian Food Forum Innovation Awards event last night, Thursday 25th March. The winning pudding contains natural fruits, berries and oats and has been specially formulated to be suitable for people who are wheat intolerant. Several other nutritional benefits have also been associated with oats, including the potential to reduce the amount of cholesterol in our blood. “We were very impressed with the taste and texture of this product” said Dr Alan Rowe of the Rowett Institute’s commercial arm, Rowett Research Services. “The product looked attractive when served and the labelling combined visual appeal with in-depth information on the nutritional and positive health benefits,” said Dr Rowe. Jill Adron, a partner in Tilquhillie Puddings, said “I am delighted with this award which recognises that our products are helping sufferers of coeliac disease to lead normal lives and at the same time offering the healthy eating benefits of oats to the wider population.” Dr Alex Johnstone, a nutritionist at the Rowett who was also one of the judges, said: “Changing Scotland's diet to become healthier must involve food producers, so it was encouraging to see a variety of entries for this award. It shows that food producers can and will respond to consumer demand for healthier products.” For further information please contact Dr Alan Rowe on 0776 1144802 or Liz Adron, Tilquhillie Puddings, 01330 822037. Photographs from the awards presentation available from Liz Mathie 01224 252068 or 01224 664334. Issued by Sue Bird, PR Manager, 07711 093417. The Rowett Research Institute, ABERDEEN, AB21 9SB, is an internationally recognised centre of excellence for nutrition research. We undertake research to improve food quality and prevent disease. Further information available at www.rowett.ac.uk

RRS links with Scottish Institutes to develop new business opportunities. The Office of Science and Technology announced on 19 January 2004 that a consortium of five organisations involving the Rowett Institute (through RRS) and led by the Moredun Institute had been successful in securing more than £1.5M of funding from the Public Sector Research Exploitation Fund. The award will establish the Genomia Seed Fund to support early stage development of commercial ideas arising from research undertaken by consortia members. Eligible activities will include proof of concept and business development in the areas of food production and biomedical technologies. Edinburgh Fund Managers will administer the fund on behalf of the consortium. Dr Alan Rowe, Chief Executive of Rowett Research Services Limited said ’we are delighted to be associated with the Genomia Fund. It creates an exciting new opportunity for the Rowett to realise some of the commercial opportunities arising from our research programmes. Genomia not only addresses a gap in UK commercialisation funding but also will help us to retain technologies in Scotland, contributing to wealth creation and global competitiveness’.

Rowett Supports Grampian Food Awards Rowett Research Services and Rowett Institute are pleased to be sponsoring the Grampian Food Awards again in 2007. Rowett will be sponsoring the award for best new healthy eating product as part of our commitment to encourage the development of new health promoting foods by Scottish industry. Applications are invited from food companies in Grampian and Moray and will be judged by an expert panel. The award, an engraved trophy, will be presented at the main Awards Dinner to be held at The Marcliffe Hotel and Spa on Wednesday 14 March 2007. Applications close on Wednesday 7 February 2007. An application form together with more details about the Grampian Food Forum can be obtained from www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/foodawards.

Friendly bacteria offer routes to new anti-inflammatory drugs Dr Denise Kelly and her team at the Rowett Institute have for the first time demonstrated how the friendly or commensal bacteria in our gut help stop inflammation caused by harmful bacteria. In a paper published in the prestigious journal Nature Immunology in January 2004 (Vol 5 No 1 P 104- 112) Dr Kelly has revealed that commensal bacteria stimulate a protein in cells known as Peroxisome proliferator receptor-g (PPAR g) to antagonise the transcription factor NF-kB and attenuate production of proinflammatory cytokines. Whilst an inflammatory response is a natural way for the body to deal with pathogenic bacteria if it gets out of hand it can lead to chronic conditions such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease. The data opens up new approaches for targeting control of inflammation to new therapeutic routes to treatment of inflammatory disease. Working with Dr Kelly Rowett Research Services has filed International Patents (GB20010027916, WO 03046580) covering the technology and its applications for screening and therapeutics. Further pre-clinical development is now needed to take the technology forward and we are currently seeking parties in collaborating in its development. Download pdf

RRS at the open day	RRS - Commercialising the science at the Rowett Open Day RRS took the opportunity of the Rowett Open Days on September 25, 26 and 27 2003 to present to the public some of its work in commercialising research undertaken at the Rowett Institute. Our stand showed examples of four key stages of commercialisation from proving the concept to successful product launch through case histories. The posters can be viewed here as PDF files. Over the three days more than 2000 people from a diverse range of backgrounds including MSPs, finance, public sector and industry as well as the general public visited the display. Pictured is Dr Alan Rowe CEO of RRS with one of the many visitors. Download pdf

Alan receives award	SMART success for Rowett spin out company Rowett based diagnostics company PyrroNostics Limited has been successful in securing a Stage 1 Scottish Executive SMART award worth £45000 to help develop its novel assays for use in diagnosis of chronic disease. PyrroNostics was formed in Spring 2003 to develop patented technology developed by Dr Simon Robins of the Matrix Biochemistry Group of the Rowett Institute. The company is developing diagnostics aimed at early detection of chronic conditions such as CVD, osteoporosis and type II diabetes. To learn more about PyrroNostics click here. Pictured at an awards ceremony in Glasgow held in July is Dr Alan Rowe CEO of RRS and Director of PyrroNostics collected the award from Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace MSP. Speaking after the ceremony Alan said ‘ The SMART Award is important recognition of the technical and commercial potential of PyrroNostics’ technology in a growing global market. The grant will provide vital support to enable us to accelerate the development of our first products and we hope will be a springboard to further products. ‘ The award is the third SMART since 1997 to be linked to Rowett technologies, each has led to subsequent successful commercial development. To see more about the other Rowett SMART awards click here.

	The Royal Society of Edinburgh funds innovative healthcare research at Aberdeen's Rowett Research Institute Donald McPhail, a scientist working for the commercial arm of The Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, will receive a Enterprise Fellowship in biotechnology from The Royal Society of Edinburgh at their annual Research Awards Ceremony in Edinburgh tomorrow evening, Wednesday 27thAugust. The award is funded by Scottish Enterprise. Mr McPhail's award will enable him to continue his research into developing new antioxidants to treat conditions such as stroke and Alzheimer's disease. In these conditions the body is subject to attack by a large number of highly-reactive compounds called free radicals, which cause damage either to the cells or to some of the processes in the cells. Under normal conditions we defend ourselves from this type of attack with compounds called antioxidants, which include vitamins C and E. "The use of naturally-occurring antioxidants to treat these conditions has met with limited success and so we have been working with the chemists at Glasgow University to develop a new type of antioxidant compound which will reach the site where the damage is occurring quickly and in sufficient quantities to minimise the resulting damage," said Mr McPhail. "OxyProTec is the name of the spin-out company being set-up by ourselves and Glasgow University to take forward the design of novel therapeutics and to commercialise drug candidates in this potentially lucrative, and as yet untapped, therapeutic area," said Dr Alan Rowe, Chief Executive of Rowett Research Services, the commercial arm of the Rowett Research Institute. "We are fortunate to have previously received Scottish Enterprise Proof of Concept Funding to allow us to combine the Rowett's extensive knowledge of plant-derived antioxidants with the synthetic chemistry expertise of Glasgow University. That was the launching pad for this next stage and we are delighted that this innovative healthcare research has been recognised by the Royal Society of Chemistry," said Dr Alan Rowe.

	Rowett Research Services Ltd signs deal with Haptogen Ltd to access new display technology Haptogen Ltd (Aberdeen, Scotland) has announced the signing of an exclusive worldwide agreement with Rowett Research Services Ltd (Aberdeen, Scotland), to license a powerful new display technology. Developed at the renowned Rowett Research Institute and known as DNA-binding domain extrusion display (DBD-Ex), the new technology has application for the panning and display of individual clones from antibody and peptide libraries. DBD-Ex significantly increases the ability of Haptogen to raise antibodies to targets previously considered beyond the scope of current immuno-technologies. Jim Reid, CEO of Haptogen said ‘Accessing this new technology is a very exciting step for Haptogen. Our work in generating effective therapeutic, diagnostic and separation antibodies to bioactive haptens is at the leading edge of antibody engineering and we believe that utilising DBD-Ex will give us a further advantage in our research programmes’. Dr Alan Rowe, CEO of Rowett Research Services Ltd added: ‘We are pleased to have concluded this license agreement with Haptogen Ltd. They are a young and highly innovative team with exciting antibody technology that provides an ideal partner for The Rowett DBD-Ex display. We’re looking forward to a rewarding relationship’. Haptogen has made an upfront payment and will continue to pay royalties over the 10-year span of the agreement. Further financial details were not disclosed.

Jamie receives £150K grant	Putting a break on belching cows Scottish Enterprise has awarded a £150k grant under its Proof of Concept Scheme for a two-year programme to develop technology for reducing methane emissions from cattle. Methane is an aggressive and important greenhouse gas and a major source is cattle which produce it as a bye-product of digestion. Control of production will not only help the country meet its targets under the Kyoto protocol but will help the agricultural sector to be more competitive through increased yields. The project is developing novel probiotics and prebiotics for inclusion in cattle feed that will reduce emissions and improve production. As part of the programme RRS will be undertaking commercial development of the technology. Pictured is the co lead scientist Professor Jamie Newbold receiving the award at a Glasgow Awards ceremony in April from of Scottish Enterprise. Commenting on the award Jamie said’ The Proof of Concept support is providing key early stage investment to help the Institute develop this exciting technology from the research bench towards commercial reality’. RRS CEO Alan Rowe added ‘ Methane emissions have potentially enormous global economic and environmental consequences and we are pleased to be helping to commercialise this important technology.’ RRS is currently seeking potential commercial development partners to take this technology forward. To find out more click here. The award was the fourth awarded to Rowett since the Proof of Concept Scheme started. The earlier projects have covered development of novel therapeutics for oxidative stress, environmentally friendly bactericides for the food industry and development of novel markers of meat quality. To find out more about these click here.