HIE and economist respond as Highland company goes into administration
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A Highland medical technology company has gone into administration, leading to the loss of 38 jobs. ODx Innovations called in the administrators just before Christmas.
The business which relocated to Solasta House at Inverness Campus in 2019, focuses on transforming the speed at which the testing and treatment is performed for patients with suspected Urinary Tract Infections (UTI). It received a £1.75m grant from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) for a three year period.
Administrators are now calling on potential buyers with an interest in the company to get in touch.
Commenting on the news that company has now gone into administration, leading to the job losses, an HIE spokesperson said: “We are always disappointed to hear of any enterprise experiencing difficulties. ODx has been an important element in our region’s growing life sciences sector for the past three years.
“This will be a very worrying time for the company’s employees, and we will be working with our partners through PACE (Partnership for Action on Continued Employment) to help those facing redundancy.
“The Highlands and Islands life sciences sector remains very strong and growing, and the skills and experience of ODx employees should be attractive to other companies looking to recruit, so there are grounds for optimism in that respect.”
Local economist Tony Mackay added that this news comes as a blow to the medical technology sector in the region.
He said: "This is surprising and very disappointing news.
"The development of medical-related businesses on the Inverness Campus site has been a high priority for Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the Scottish Government, so this could be a big setback. Medical problems have increased massively in the last few years, because of the coronavirus pandemics, so there has been a lot of investment in new facilities.
"The reasons for the company’s financial collapse are not clear at the present time but obviously we must hope that the administrators can find a buyer to continue the business, albeit on a smaller scale."
