Innova Biosciences to Take Antibody Labelling Kit to China

Following support from UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), Innova Biosciences Ltd has been able to appoint two new distributors in Genetimes Technology Inc and NeoBioscience Technology Company.

Following the development of Lightning-Link™ in 2006, the World‟s easiest to use antibody labelling kit, Innova dramatically changed direction. As well as being used in hospital and research labs around the world, the kit also features in consumer items such as pregnancy test kits. With the product being sold throughout the Life Science sector, Innova is now positioned as a world leader in the supply of products and services to the academic, pharmaceutical and diagnostics sectors. So, when interest began to spark in China, the company turned to UKTI for advice.

Sales Director, Tim Bernard, explains. "We knew we needed some help and advice to tackle a totally unfamiliar market and that is where we came into contact with UKTI‟s Chris Ilsley. We were getting lots of hits to the website from scientists in China but didn‟t have the solution as to how to follow these up.‟ Tim explained: „Thanks to the support from UKTI, I was able to visit Shanghai, Hong Kong and Beijing and make some invaluable contacts as well as fully understanding what initially appeared, quite a complex market."

"Through Chris we came to realise just how much help is available. We now know how we can get the right information on a new market and that it will be reliable. We know that it is vital to understand the market; that each is different and that you need to appreciate the cultural aspects as well as the economic and legal niceties. I found our interaction with UKTI thoroughly excellent.‟

"Tim and his company are a great example to other potential exporters”, says Chris Ilsley, International Trade Adviser with responsibility for the Biotech and Pharmaceutical sectors. “They have taken what was a challenging situation and turned it into a positive. They came to us to see how we could help in China and made use of our Export Marketing Research Scheme (EMRS).‟