A CHANCE meeting between two bio-technologists at a conference in York has resulted in the formation of a company in Selby which will save thousands of lives.

Dr Dean Moss, a biochemist and Dr Stephen Blight, former vice president of York-based Accent Optical Technologies Inc, formed York Medical Technologies (YTM) and have now been found a base at Vivars Industrial estate by the region's inward investment board, York-england.com

The new organisation, which is a distributor of high-quality surgical instruments and disposable medical products, is being run by five people, with Dr Moss as managing director, but he believes staff will double in two years' time. Dr Blight, now a director of Deep Sea Electronics in Hunmanby, is a shareholder.

The venture came about when the two men struck up a conversation at last February's Venturefest York.

At that successful science and technology conference organised by York Professional Initiative for entrepreneurs and business start-ups at York Racecourse, the two men realised they had similar ideas on the medical supply market and experience in healthcare.

Dr Moss had worked in Australia, as a clinical research assistant for 12 years, then in international business development and commercial management in two of Australia's leading listed biotechnology companies for six years.

Transferring to England, he was until recently a divisional general manager for a UK and Irish wholesaler and distributor of healthcare products.

Dr Blight held a variety of senior research and development, marketing, business development and general management roles in a 20 year career.

Within months - and with the help of Science City York - they had devised a business plan, found two private investors to provide start-up funding and formed partnerships with a few carefully-chosen suppliers, including surgical instrument brand leader Stille Surgical AB of Sweden.

Dr Moss has now set his sights on a share of the extra £86 million which has been earmarked by the National Health Service to buy surgical instruments over the next four years.

He said: "We aim to provide surgeons with the highest quality instruments available.

It is important that the surgeon has total confidence in the quality of the instruments they are using, especially in long and delicate procedures."

Updated: 10:07 Monday, October 18, 2004