Vindon Healthcare plc
Vindon Healthcare
Vindon Healthcare plc is a British-based company engaged in the manufacture of environmental control products for the pharmaceutical industry, life sciences and food sectors, providing products and services for the management of temperature, humidity and light, where controlled storage is required.
History
The company was established in 1967 by Jack Roylance, Vincent Beddoes and Donald Smith. The original product range was limited to refrigeration units, simple laboratory ovens, microbiological incubators and water baths. Vincent Beddoes left in 1968 and Alan Roylance, son of Jack Roylance, joined in 1977. Alan purchased Donald Smith's shareholding in 1983. Donald Smith retired in 1994 and Jack Roylance retired in 1996. Jack Roylance gifted his 50% shareholding to Alan during 2002. Alan was Managing Director from 1990 until selling the company to Zeus Capital for an undisclosed sum in 2004.
On 28 February 2005, Didsbury ProgresS plc acquired the entire issued share capital of Vindon Scientific Limited. On 15 March 2005 the company changed its name from Didsbury Progress plc to Vindon Healthcare plc.
Liam Ferguson was made chairman and appointed Patrick Jackson as business development director, Martin Burrill as finance director and Ian Gordon as operations director.
In April 2005, the company was admitted to the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).
In October 2007, Vindon opened a stability storage facility in Tramore, County Waterford, commenced storage in the UK of biological and tissue material at ultra-low temperatures and established operational capability in the United States of America.
In August 2008 the company moved into its new, 29,000 sq ft purpose built premises on Kingsway Business Park, Rochdale, Lancashire.
2009 saw Vindon apply their expertise and experience to cryogenic storage services. Vindon's Cryobank provides storage for the preservation of stem cells, cord stem cells, DNA and bone marrow at temperatures ranging from -150ºC down to -196ºC.
Vindon's ability to control temperature and humidity was then applied to the heritage market providing storage services to the British Library of Film Archives.
Operations
Vindon Healthcare plc, along with its subsidiaries, is engaged in the manufacture of environmental control products for the pharmaceutical industry, life sciences and food sectors together with the provision of related services. The Company provides products and services for the management of temperature, humidity and light, where controlled storage is required. Its product range includes controlled environment rooms and storage chambers, blood bank storage units and plant growth chambers. Vindon Healthcare also offers controlled environment storage facilities for customers at its purpose-built premises in Rochdale and its Ireland facility in Tramore, Co Waterford. Its subsidiary, Vindon Scientific, is an acknowledged leader in the field of controlled environmental rooms and chambers.
Customers
Vindon's customer base largely comprises major blue chip international companies. The majority of these are in the pharmaceutical industry and have been clients of Vindon for many years. Typically these customers use CERs through the research and development processes that are involved in the development of new drugs and medicines. The company's products are also purchased by businesses in other sectors that require environmental control systems to ensure constant temperature, light and humidity or a combination of these on particular materials or liquids
Products
Products offered by Vindon include:
- Blood storage and transportation
- Data loggers and chart recorders
- Environmental rooms and cabinets
- Incubators and refrigerated incubators
- Laboratory fridges and freezers
- Ovens
- Stability storage rooms and cabinets
More detailed information on the key aspects of some of these products follows:
Blood storage and transportation Comprises blood banks, plasma freezers and Transtherm® blood transportation boxes.
Environmental rooms and cabinets Comprise salts-type humidity cabinets, injection-type humidity cabinets, plant growth cabinets and textile conditioning cabinets.
Stability storage rooms and cabinets Comprises standard and customised environmental cabinets, reach–in rooms, and walk–in rooms, designed for use in the pharmaceutical, medical and healthcare industries.
Incubators Comprises cooled and standard incubators in sizes from bench top to floor standing
Services
Disaster recovery management Sentinel Disaster Recovery is a disaster recovery plan designed to ensure customers' trials can continue in the event of a catastrophic incident. This scheme allows for any amount of product to be placed in stability storage suites, to be called off as required. It can prevent the loss of potentially millions of pounds, as well as the embarrassment of delay in bringing vital products to market. If a trial ends prematurely, or in the event of an emergency, back-up stocks can be quickly retrieved from store.
Heritage and conservation storage Vindon's heritage conservation storage facility provides stable temperature and humidity. Keeping future deterioration to a minimum, Vindon's heritage storage service preserves the integrity, both historic and artistic, of artefacts, original materials and film archives.
Vindon's Inventory Management Software (VIMS) provides a comprehensive management tool for storage room operations for all special collections.
As Vindon improves controlled environment storage technologies, dedicated storage at bespoke conditions is becoming more accessible for the long-term storage and preservation of historical artefacts and heritage collections. Our cultural heritage is an irreplaceable and treasured resource. Whatever the collection, from fabrics to furs, paintings to stained glass, or antiques to film archives, prevention of decay and deterioration plays a crucial role in the care of these items.
Controlled conditions Fluctuating temperature and humidity levels are damaging to most materials. Vindon can minimise the risk of damage and deterioration by storing collections in the optimum environment, reducing the need for interventive measures in the future. Stored items could include:
- Acetate film
- Archaeological artefacts
- Books
- Catalogue material
- Costumes
- Documents
- Drawings
- Engravings
- Film archives
- Fine art, paintings and artworks
- Furs and leathers
- Historical records
- Manuscripts
- Microfilm
- Musical instruments
- Nitrate film
- Old toys
- Photographs
- Polyester film
- Special collections
- Videos
Preventive conservation storage Built on site by in-house engineers, Vindon's heritage storage suites provide dust-free storage at a wide range of temperatures and humidities for the long term care of collections. They are particularly well suited to the storage of special collections, historic artefacts and vulnerable film-based media, including Cellulose acetate film and Nitrate film.
By storing acetate film not yet degrading, at a temperature of 5ºC with relative humidity (RH) of 35%, Vindon have increased the length of time it takes for free acidity to develop. The preservation index (PI) is increased from 80 years to 350 years. By storing degrading acetate film in these conditions will change the PI from 10 years to approximately 200 years. By storing non acetate, including polyester, the PI will increase from 63 years to 488 years.
Stability storage Vindon's stability storage suite houses 43 walk-in rooms, stability rooms and stability chambers, with shelving totalling more than one mile in length. A complete range of world climatic ICH zone II conditions is provided. Customers can undertake long-term stability testing, accelerated testing, comparative stability testing, forced long-term stability testing and stability of active pharmaceutical ingredients, as well as shelf life and stability storage trials. Facilities also include refrigerated cabinets, photostability cabinets, plant growth cabinets, plasma freezers, together with all necessary service and repairs. Chambers are available for freeze or thaw and storage of quarantine samples. Spark-proof chambers are available for aerosols and volatile substances. Stability storage conditions comprise ambient, low temperature, ultra-low temperature, plus cryogenic and vapour phase nitrogen..
Ambient, moderate and temperate storage from 60ºC TO -2ºC With walk-in rooms and chambers simulating all of the ICH world climatic zone temperatures for long term, intermediate and accelerated testing, Vindon can provide ambient temperature and stability storage whatever the size of product. Environmentally controlled rooms in the stability storage suite are dedicated to the storage of pharmaceutical products, clinical trial material, solvents, dry powder inhalers (DPIs), pressurised metered dose inhalers (PMDIs), nasal sprays, nebulisers, tablets and capsules, as well as bulk pharmaceutical chemicals.
Low temperature storage from -2ºC TO -60ºC Low temperature secure storage facilities are ideal for high value goods and perishables, from art and antiques to nitrate film, food products, pharmaceuticals and toxins. By increasing or decreasing relative humidity, the ideal storage environment can be created for any artefact or sample. Storage rooms can easily be adapted to operate at any condition, meet rigorous temperature and humidity control requirements and incorporate outstanding security and safety features.
Ultra-low temperature storage from -60ºC TO -86ºC The ultra-low temperature storage facility is tailored to the needs of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. A comprehensive storage solution for the long-term preservation of biologics, reagents, and specimens at temperatures down to -86ºC, this facility is capable of storing millions of samples, vials or tube racks.
Cryogenic and vapour phase nitrogen from -150ºC TO -196ºC Vindon's Cryobank, a secure storage facility for the preservation of biological samples, bone marrow, cord stem cells, DNA, stem cells and tissue samples at temperatures down to 196ºC. The service provides coordination and distribution of samples from specialist laboratories, hospitals and NHS trusts. The facility incorporates 24-hour security and is protected from power failures by a back-up generator and gravity fed liquid nitrogen tank. Every DryStore Cryopreservation Unit has a wired and wireless back-up alarm warning system and an emergency back-up freezer is maintained on-site. All safety issues are in strict accordance with the latest regulations to offer a first class biological storage facility..
Validation BS5750 part 1 registration was gained in 1991. This was converted to full ISO9001 in November 1994. The initial scope of registration was 'The design, manufacture, selling and servicing of controlled environment laboratory equipment'. Vindon was the first in its particular field to achieve this standard. In 1999 the Scope of Registration was expanded to include 'The storage of customer supplied products' (ie in-house stability trials). The company has recently achieved registration to ISO9001:2000 and the Scope of Registration now includes 'Installation and validation'.
Vindon holds a Human Tissue Authority licence for the storage, distribution and import/export of human cells and tissue.