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 Privately held Proteus Digital Health, which is
working with drugmakers including Novartis and Otsuka, said on
Monday the new site would employ some 200 skilled staff and serve as
a hub for the emerging digital medicine industry.
The move was welcomed by Prime Minister David Cameron, who said it
showed Britain's ability to attract high-tech companies.
Proteus already has European and U.S. approval for its "smart pill"
technology system, in which a tiny sensor is embedded in a tablet
and linked to a patch worn on the patient's abdomen.
About the size of a grain of sand, the sensor has no battery or
antenna and is powered by reacting with stomach juices. Information
is sent from the sensor to the small skin patch, which transmits
data by Bluetooth to a smartphone or tablet computer.
In addition to telling doctors if patients are taking their
medicines properly, the tiny sensors can also monitor vital signs,
such as heart rate.
Several teams within Britain's state-run National Health Service
plan to test the benefits of using the sensor technology in various
fields, including in treating hypertension, or high blood pressure.
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Ensuring that patients with high blood pressure, who suffer no
symptoms, have taken their medicines properly is a major challenge
for doctors.
In May, Redwood City, California-based Proteus announced a $62.5
million funding round, including investment from new investor
Oracle.
(Editing by Louise Heavens)
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