AlphaBiolabs

Celebrating growth this British Science Week

Today is the first day of British Science Week (11th-20th March), a 10-day celebration of science, engineering, mathematics, and technology (STEM) across the UK.

Organised by the British Science Association and funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the week is designed to encourage people of all ages and abilities to get involved in STEM activities by taking part in or organising their own events within communities, schools, and colleges.

This year’s theme is ‘growth’ – a theme that’s close to our hearts here at AlphaBiolabs.

As a highly enterprising biotech business, we understand the crucial role that science plays in our society, and the benefits of raising awareness for STEM among children and adults alike.

Since 2004, we’ve been providing a range of laboratory testing services that meet the very highest international quality standards, as well as growing our portfolio of products and services to meet the ever-changing needs of our customers.

To celebrate the start of British Science Week, we want to share a quick round-up of what we’ve been up to at AlphaBiolabs over the last two years. All of which most certainly ties in with this year’s theme of growth!

Growth at AlphaBiolabs

With the impact of Covid-19 being felt around the world, it’s been an incredibly busy couple of years at AlphaBiolabs.

We’ve worked exceptionally hard to deliver an outstanding service for members of the public and our legal and workplace clients – all while growing our team and introducing even more testing solutions for the benefit of our customers.

Here are just a few facts and figures that demonstrate the growth of AlphaBiolabs as a UKAS-accredited testing laboratory…

From April 2020-April 2021 we:

  • Launched our Covid-19 testing laboratory and successfully secured ISO17025 accreditation for PCR testing and whole genome sequencing within one year of the lab being established
  • Grew our DNA team by 66% (new staff)
  • Successfully launched prenatal paternity testing for peace of mind and the legal sector
  • Gained UKAS accreditation (ISO17025) for Y-chromosome analysis and complex DNA relationship testing
  • Doubled our Toxicology team
  • Continued to provide a comprehensive and robust alcohol testing service throughout the pandemic, supporting the critical work of family law courts, social services and other agencies involved in safeguarding staff; despite many of our competitors curtailing the service they offered during this period

And the hard work doesn’t stop there!

As of February 2022, we became the first testing laboratory in the UK to hold UKAS accreditation for our prenatal paternity testing. An achievement that is testament to the hard work and dedication of our DNA team.

This month (March), we also introduced our Drug & Alcohol Nail Test for consumers, in a UK-first.

The launch of the test marks the first time that consumers have been able to send nail clippings to an accredited laboratory to test for drugs and/or alcohol.

The test is a huge step forward for families looking for a non-invasive way to gain peace of mind, helping lessen any worries that a loved one is abusing illicit substances, or enabling them to seek the correct support should a test return a positive result.

News of the test hitting the market was even picked up by the Daily Express!

Accredited laboratory testing that you can trust

We’re incredibly proud to be one of the UK’s leading providers of DNA, drug, alcohol, and Covid-19 testing services, for members of the public, as well as providing testing services for the legal profession and the workplace.

We’d like to take the opportunity this British Science Week to thank our customers and clients for their ongoing support, and for trusting AlphaBiolabs to help them get the answers they need.

We’d also like to thank our colleagues for their continued hard work and dedication.

To get involved in British Science Week visit the website, where you can download activity packs and resources. If you do use an activity pack or host an event, don’t forget to tag @SciencWeekUK on Twitter and use the hashtag #BSW22.

Want to learn more about AlphaBiolabs products and services? Call our friendly and knowledgeable Customer Services team on 0333 600 1300 or email info@alphabiolabs.com.