PRESS RELEASE

Dr. Adrian Parton awarded MBE in Queen's Birthday Honours List for "Services to Microbiology"

Dr Adrian Parton was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for "Services to MicroBiology" for developing novel diagnostics in a range of industries including Water, Food and Healthcare over the last 21 years. He founded Genera Technologies Ltd in 1993 which developed novel diagnostic products for the water industry including the Filta-Max technology for detection of Cryptosporidum in water supplies. This became the subject of a UK regulation in April 2000, requiring all UK water companies to use his products on a daily basis, and was also EPA Method 1623 approved.

Matrix MicroScience Ltd, was founded by Dr Parton in August 2000 and is a world leading diagnostic company specialising in the rapid detection of pathogens in food. Dr Parton also founded KliniSep Ltd in 2007, a company focused in the healthcare sector and it has developed a rapid diagnostic test for MRSA. Matrix MicroScience developed the "PATHATRIX" system which is recognised as ground breaking technology by leading institutes around the world; FDA, USDA, CDC, Canadian Food Inspection Service, and many multinational food companies. PATHATRIX technology was used by the FDA and the Californian Department of Health to isolate the source of the E.coli O157 that swept across 26 US states in 2006. PATHATRIX was used to identify spinach as the source of the outbreak, then trace the supply line back all the way to the field where the spinach was grown.

Matrix is actively developing reagents for the E. coli O104 the cause of the German outbreak, and plans to launch the test imminently, and is also working on a range of reagents for the detection of E.coli (non-O157) STEC organisms targeted by the USDA in the analysis of ground beef. Dr Parton says "It's a great honour to receive the MBE in the Queen's Honours List for services to microbiology and a testament to the hard work of all of the people who have worked with me in the various companies over the years, for which I thank them. It means a lot to me personally that technology I have developed is being used to protect public health."