A medical spin-out from the University of Strathclyde is preparing for expansion after signing a lease on new office and laboratory facilities.

Aureum Diagnostics, which is developing low-cost tests for a wide range of diseases, has taken 3,500sq ft on a five-year deal at Maxim Park near Motherwell. The company has said it plans to recruit further as its scales up operations for product commercialisation.

Backed by Norcliffe Capital, Aureum was set up in 2021 to bring to market advanced electrochemical diagnostic technologies based on the work of its founder, chief scientific officer Damien Corrigan. Led by industry veteran Oliver Davies, the company currently employs eight people.

Mr Davies – who was appointed chief executive of Aureum after holding a range of senior positions with companies such as Abbott, Inverness Medical, Alere and Johnson & Johnson – said good onsite amenities and transport links were important considerations in choosing a new location.

“Operating between Glasgow and Edinburgh is an excellent location for both staff and visitors,” he explained.

“The team at Maxim Park have been extremely helpful in facilitating our workspace needs and meeting a tight moving-in deadline. We now look forward to seeing the business continue to go from strength to strength on the back of this latest investment.”

The company’s first platform is a saliva-based test for Covid modelled on the glucose test strips used to check blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. As glucose tests are already manufactured at scale, it has been estimated that the Covid assay could be produced for as little as 20p per test.

Aureum is the latest of several life sciences firms to take up space at Maxim Park, which offers a mix of laboratory and office space. Existing tenants include German biopharmaceutical group Sartorius and TC BioPharm, which has its hub for immune cell therapy research at the site.