Formerly trading under the name Integumen, DeepVerge specialises in environmental monitoring, life sciences and artificial intelligence. It employs over 90 people and recently announced an expansion to its facilities at Fermoy, County Cork. Among its core products is Labskin, which simulates the effects of testing on human-like skin in a real-world environment.
First ever profitable quarter
DeepVerge confirmed Q4 its first ever profitable quarter, with a strong order book and 12 new contracts in the bag for its Labskin services. The board also provided revenue guidance of £10m for 2021 – 127% growth on full year 2020 figures. Several large projects, including two multi-million pound opportunities, are due for decision in the coming months. These offer the potential to drive these figures substantially higher.
DeepVerge has also been working on testing solutions for Covid. The company’s AI-based water contamination detection system is seen as a possible solution. It was previously used for the detection of e-coli bacteria in water. Work has been very interesting, with DeepVerge confirming in March that its proprietary Microtox BT test can detect Covid in under 60 seconds from breath samples.
“The requirement for the UK Target Product Profile (“TPP”) Rapid Breath Test requires 150 confirmed positive samples and 250 confirmed negative samples,” explained Gerard Brandon, CEO of DeepVerge plc. “Additional supervised breath test clinical trials from a larger group is expected to provide sufficient data to meet the desired and acceptable criteria in the TPP to roll out the COVID19 and other pathogen breath tests later this year.”
DeepVerge has a subsidiary which has been very focused on the detection of pathogens in fluids in real time. It has been looking at how microfluidics, photonics and AI technologies can be blended into a platform that can pick up diseases in a fluid environment. Early work included malaria, e-coli and mastitis. Since the arrival of the pandemic, the team has shifted to the detection of Covid in wastewater.
The platform is considered relevant for anyone seeking to quickly identify Covid hot spots. Currently governments seem to be relying on mass testing of individuals in an area. This technology could really change the game with the testing applied regularly to wastewater.
Testing with pseudovirus in UK, Ireland
DeepVerge has been working with a pseudovirus that mimics Covid at CL2 labs in York (UK) and Cork (Ireland). There has also been testing work carried out with live virus at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Field trials are being prepped over the summer months in both the UK and USA. the company has also said it is looking at potentially installing the technology on cruise liners.
The company also announced in April it was entering a JV with China Resources Environmental Protection Development, a pollution-monitoring subsidiary of one of the country’s state-owned enterprises. The JV will ne manufacturing and installing – as well as selling – environmental monitoring equipment.
