London, April 8, 2014: Imanova Limited, the Centre for Imaging Sciences in London, today hosted a visit from the Mayor of London Boris Johnson to mark the launch of the major new MedCity initiative. Imanova announced its strong support for the scheme, which aims to ensure London maintains and continues to build its position as one of the world’s leading life science hubs.
During his visit to see how imaging plays a central role in modern drug discovery, the Mayor was greeted by Imanova CEO Kevin Cox and shown a novel motion tracking device which is being developed by Imanova scientists.
The technology, which is based on a Microsoft Kinect camera, tracked his movements to generate a complex three dimensional image of his head. In brain scanning studies, the resulting image is used simultaneously with positron emission tomography (PET) brain scanning to ensure an accurate, unblurred scan. This is a real breakthrough in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease where patients may find it difficult or impossible to stay still. Following his visit, the Mayor launched the MedCity initiative at the neighbouring Imperial College London.
The MedCity initiative aims to boost collaboration and drive economic growth by bringing together the life sciences sector across London, Cambridge and Oxford. As a young company seeking to grow, Imanova is pleased to have the support of the Mayor and to join the wider MedCity initiative.
Imanova CEO Kevin Cox commented: “Imanova is delighted to have hosted the Mayor’s visit today.” Sharing his support for the initiative he continued “We are fully behind MedCity as it will position London as the undisputed leader for translational medicine in Europe; increasing inward investment, expanding collaborations and supporting growth. As a leading centre for imaging sciences this will greatly enhance Imanova’s ability to attract business from around the world.”
Commenting on his visit to Imanova, the Mayor of London said: “I have just had the privilege of having my brain scanned at a brilliant company called Imanova – a collaboration between Imperial, UCL, King’s and the MRC.”
Speaking about the financial benefits of the MedCity initiative, he commented: “I am in no doubt that having the whole ‘chain’ from small spin-offs to massive companies doing their research, clinical development and manufacturing here in London and the South East can be as important to our economy as the financial services sector is today.”
“Together with Oxford and Cambridge we form a ‘golden triangle’ of scientific innovation and we need to channel that intellectual pre-eminence into a positive impact on our economy. MedCity will span everything from research to clinical trials to manufacturing, across biotech, med tech and health tech.”
The initiative also aims to stimulate the discovery of new treatments, an area in which imaging sciences is increasingly being seen as essential. Imaging sciences is thought to be the key to the successful development of new drugs for Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and other life-threatening diseases.