Enterprise Hub Network - Case History
Medway Enterprise Hub
Ray Wynne
Toximet
Company Background
The food industry will be able to detect toxins in their products with a quick and easy device thanks to Toximet.
The testing system aims to be more affordable than other methods and can be done by non-scientists from producers through to retailers.
The founder of the University of Greenwich spin-out company Ray Coker has over 30 years experience in the management of food safety around the world. He began working on the idea three years ago after identifying the need for companies in the global food chain to have an effective device to help them meet increasingly stringent food safety regulations.
It comes in the form of a 10-inch high box which the user can learn how to operate in half an hour and gives the result in less than a minute. The whole process, including preparing the samples for testing, takes 20 minutes.
Work with Enterprise Hub
The company has benefited from the use of office space at the Medway Enterprise Hub, on the University of Greenwich Medway campus.
As newcomers to the business world, the Toximet team have taken full advantage of the mentoring offered through the Hub and have benefited from coaching and introductions to potential partners.
The Hub has worked with Toximet on various funding applications including introducing them to Finance SE.
Further help has been given through the review of their business plan as well as assistance in setting up an experienced board of directors.
Chief Executive of Toximet Ray Coker, a former professor of food safety at the University of Greenwich, describes how the Enterprise Hub has helped: “I went from being an academic to an entrepreneur which was a very steep learning curve. The Medway Enterprise Hub has been a huge help guiding us through the process of setting up a business and developing an idea.”
Medway Enterprise Hub Director Ray Wynne said: “I think there are some really exciting opportunities for Toximet moving forward. They are at a position where the technology can be licensed out to an equipment manufacturer to take it on into the market. It is a very good funding opportunity.”
What’s next
Toximet is now talking to potential licensing companies to take the technology forward, through both manufacturing and marketing the product. They hope to have a deal in the early part of next year. In parallel, Toximet aims to raise £600,000. It is a rapid growth company with a predicted turnover from royalties of £7million in the five years post-investment.
The company will continue to develop the product through ideas and technology.
Although Toximet is currently focusing on the food safety market, the platform technology the company is developing can also be applied to detect such substances as drugs and explosives.
