Prospectus for First European Microfluidics Consortium Announced
Want to listen to this article for FREE?
Complete the form below to unlock access to ALL audio articles.
Read time: 1 minute
The Centre for Business Innovation (CfBI) announces the prospectus for its First European Microfluidics Consortium. This consortium is made up of researchers, developers, integrators and users of microfluidics technologies – as well as government and regulatory agencies. Its purpose is to facilitate the uptake of microfluidics in commercial applications.
Dr. Peter Hewkin CEO of CfBI tells us “The market for microfluidic technologies is predicted by www.yole.fr to be soon worth $5billion. However the technology suppliers and the application communities are highly fragmented and nearly all solutions are created from ‘first principles’. If the market is to grow quickly we will need to move towards standards, compatible modular formats and CAD systems – even if that is only a dream today we can start by getting the right dialogue running across sectoral boundaries’.
Participants in the consortium come from UK, Germany, France, Benelux and beyond – covering sectors such as Food, Safety, Medical Research, Diagnostics, Chemical Synthesis, Forensics, Printing and Environment. Starting at the end of May 2009 for a nine month period they will work together sharing technology/market watch as well as engaging in a series of structured discussions at locations across Europe and informed by hands-on demonstrations of applications, to learn across sectoral boundaries how good practices and standardized approaches can be applied to reduce the time and the cost of ‘concept to application’.
CfBI has a long track record facilitating collaborative consortia in areas as diverse as fuel cells, genetics and knowledge management where confidential communities build a spirit of trust which enables them to move forward faster than individual organizations. This effect is referred to as ‘Collaborative Advantage’.
Dr. Peter Hewkin CEO of CfBI tells us “The market for microfluidic technologies is predicted by www.yole.fr to be soon worth $5billion. However the technology suppliers and the application communities are highly fragmented and nearly all solutions are created from ‘first principles’. If the market is to grow quickly we will need to move towards standards, compatible modular formats and CAD systems – even if that is only a dream today we can start by getting the right dialogue running across sectoral boundaries’.
Participants in the consortium come from UK, Germany, France, Benelux and beyond – covering sectors such as Food, Safety, Medical Research, Diagnostics, Chemical Synthesis, Forensics, Printing and Environment. Starting at the end of May 2009 for a nine month period they will work together sharing technology/market watch as well as engaging in a series of structured discussions at locations across Europe and informed by hands-on demonstrations of applications, to learn across sectoral boundaries how good practices and standardized approaches can be applied to reduce the time and the cost of ‘concept to application’.
CfBI has a long track record facilitating collaborative consortia in areas as diverse as fuel cells, genetics and knowledge management where confidential communities build a spirit of trust which enables them to move forward faster than individual organizations. This effect is referred to as ‘Collaborative Advantage’.
