A YORK-based company creating a rapid coronavirus antibody test has completed a major expansion of its base in the city.

Abingdon Health has finished the work at its rapid test manufacturing and research facility at York Biotech Campus.

The new space means that the biotechnology company now has the capacity to manufacture millions of rapid tests a month.

These tests quickly detect the presence of biomarkers and pathogens within people, animals or crops.

York Press: The expansion was in response to an increase in market demand, heightened by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Abingdon Health, a world-leading developer and manufacturer of high-quality rapid tests across industry sectors, including healthcare and Covid-19, is the lead in the UK Rapid Test Consortium, delivering millions of antibody rapid tests that determine if someone has Covid-19 antibodies. This is increasingly important for the international roll-out of vaccines.

The new facility, based on York Biotech Campus, is a conversion of a pre-existing storage unit onsite into an industry-leading facility.

It includes seven new temperature-controlled laboratories containing cutting-edge automated manufacturing lines, with the production capability of millions of tests per month.

This is Abingdon Health’s third expansion at York Biotech Campus in the last year, as well as the addition of a manufacturing site in Doncaster, with an investment of £5.5 million over the year on expansions.

In January 2020, it grew its space at the campus by 42 per cent to provide additional laboratories, assay development space, offices and meeting rooms.

Since the start of 2020, Abingdon Health has also increased its number of staff significantly, creating 119 new roles, 39 of which are recent life science graduates, and has plans to continue recruitment efforts into next year.

Oliver Gardner, chief operating officer at Abingdon Health, said: “The pandemic has raised awareness for the need for rapid testing across industries, not only for Covid-19.

"The demand for rapid tests will continue to grow across healthcare and areas such as crop production, animal health and farming. With the market set to exceed £9bn in the near future, we are well positioned to keep pace with demand.

"The new space at our York headquarters is a vital element in becoming one of the world’s leading rapid diagnostic manufacturers, helping more people every day to receive quick and accurate results."

Liz Cashon, innovation campus manager at York Biotech Campus, said: “We’re proud to have worked in collaboration with Abingdon Health to bring this all-new facility to life and assist the team in their vital work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"When the request from Abingdon Health came in for more space, we were quick to react and employed a flexible and innovative approach, which lead us to suggesting converting an unused storage unit into a unique workspace – an ideal solution we were able to turn around quickly. We pride ourselves on our collaborative approach when it comes to meeting the needs of our tenants.

“The bioscience industry has experienced a period of rapid change over the past couple of months, stepping up to the challenges that COVID-19 has brought with it and contributing enormously to the future of healthcare in the UK. We’re especially pleased to see many Yorkshire firms, such as Abingdon Health, involved in this work and we look forward to seeing what is next for the region and the industry.”

Abingdon Health aims to support the increase in need for rapid results across many industries and locations and produces lateral flow tests in areas such as infectious disease, clinical testing including