Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1374931
2 NEWS 20.5.2021 OMNISCOPE LTD, a ground-breaking AI-enabled biotech company, this week announced the start of research and de- velopment of a medical diagnostics tool for COVID-19 in Malta, facilitated with the financial support of €1 million re- ceived from Malta Enterprise. e research and development places Malta at the center of an international collaboration, with a Malta-based team of experts in AI and computational bi- ology teaming up with OmniScope's Spanish expert collaborator in genom- ics , and OmniScope's state of the art manufacturing partner in Singapore. Scientific co-founder, Dr Holger Heyn, renowned scientist and Team Leader at the National Centre for Genomic Anal- ysis (CNAG-CRG) said that the team's wish was for the cutting-edge technol- ogy to be of service to the global com- munity in these challenging times of heightened emerging pandemic risks. "is financial support represents a true collaboration between nations to invest in much needed innovation," he said. "We aim to apply science to rapid- ly bring solutions we so urgently need right now." Heyn said OmniScope's first product, OmniScan, seeks to become a universal diagnostic tool that listens to the im- mune system to broadly detect disease at the earliest stages through simple, minimally invasive clinical tests. Commercial co-founder, Vijay Vas- wani, views the opportunity the Malta Enterprise financial support provides through both a personal and profes- sional lens. "e Malta Enterprise financial sup- port represents a major growth op- portunity for both OmniScope and my home country of Malta. Malta will be playing a central role in our inter- national expansion," he said. "My great-grandfather came to Malta as a refugee in the early 1900s. OmniS- cope's Malta op- erations are my way of giving back to Malta and express- ing my grat- itude, as his g r e a t- g r a n d - son. I'm proud to support the growth of talent, investment, and en- trepreneurial opportu- nities in the country that has had such a profound im- pact on my life." Malta Enterprise's multidisciplinary teams understood the caliber of inter- national collaborations and had the foresight to appreciate the commercial impact of OmniScope's disruptive tech- nology. Kurt Farrugia, Malta Enterprise CEO, said the agency was thrilled that Malta will be part of this ambitious project involving high-caliber researchers and business experts from Europe, Asia, the Americas and beyond. "As Malta Enterprise, we remain at the forefront to assist start-ups who want to carry out R&D with the aim of commercialising their final product and service," he said. "Om- niScope's decision to invest in Malta con- firms that we have a strong and very c o m p e t i t i v e proposition for all those who want to en- gage in high- ly innovative projects. We look forward to seeing this highly disruptive startup expand its operations in Mal- ta. Malta Enterprise remains committed to at- tracting more highly innovative startups." OmniScope is building an AI inno- vation team in Malta, enhancing and expanding the country's technolo- gy-friendly reputation to include both health and medical technology, making it an emerging international center of excellence and innovation for bioinfor- matics and AI-enabled biotechnology. As part of its ecosystemic approach, OmniScope is partnered with specialist hospitals. OmniScope's aim is to pro- vide the Maltese people access to cut- ting-edge diagnostics and healthcare developed in Malta and Spain and de- ployed internationally. OmniScope's state-of-the-art pro- duction and manufacturing facilities in Singapore provide a fast-track to com- mercial availability for Covid-19 and other PCR & NGS test prototypes. Om- niScope's Co-founder, Dr. Lihan Zhou, CEO at MiRXES Group, a leading RNA diagnostics company, says that MiRX- ES was excited to partner and support OmniScope to develop AI-powered genomic solutions to address clinical unmet needs in Covid-19 and beyond. "is builds on the strong technology and commercial foundations of MiRX- ES which has been serving partners and customers in 45 countries globally," he said. "rough OmniScope, we are now breaking borders with Malta to serve as a catalyst for innovation and transla- tion. Our immediate action is to bring MiRXES' Covid-19 solutions and other RNA technologies to the people of Mal- ta." Lynnette Ang, OmniScope's Co-founder and People and Sustaina- bility Officer said that the dynamics of today's biotech industry make a com- pelling case for international investors, especially when it's founded by world- class scientists and industry experts. OmniScope commences groundbreaking medical diagnostics research in Malta OOKLA, the company behind Speed- test, the global leader in broadband network measurement, analysis and in- sight, has officially verified GO's mobile network as being the fastest mobile net- work in Malta. Recognising GO's achievement in net- work excellence, Doug Suttles, CEO and Co-founder of Ookla, said that win- ning the prestigious Speedtest Award was a significant achievement for GO, particularly during a time where com- munities across the globe turned to in- ternet connectivity as their primary link to the rest of the world. "It is a testament to GO's commitment to provide their customers with a world class mobile internet experience," he said. Ookla's verification is obtained through its flagship product Speedtest, considered the premiere test for meas- uring speed and network efficiency. GO's CEO, Nikhil Patil, said that be- ing verified as having the fastest mobile network in Malta is a proud moment for GO and proves that the company is on the right track in fulfilling its promises to offer the best possible experience that enables its customers to connect seamlessly to the people they love and the content they enjoy, when and how they want. "Having the fastest mobile internet speed means peace of mind, efficien- cy and a moment never lost. We have been relentless in our efforts to improve our customers' experience. is is just another milestone in our journey but it's only half the story. Our purpose as a company is to drive a digital Malta where no one is left behind," he said. "We want everyone to experience the fastest network in Malta, at full speeds, all the time. is is why all our products come at full speed, no throttling, so no one is left behind." Speedtest is a true reflection of the customers' experience because it is da- ta-driven and based on individual cus- tomer-initiated tests thanks to its use by millions of people who use it everyday to better understand the performance and quality of their internet connec- tions. Speedtest Awards, presented by Ook- la, are an elite designation reserved for fixed and mobile providers in a market. Based on consumer-initiated tests and background scans from Speedtest ap- plications, Speedtest Awards represent real world network performance and the internet speeds and coverage pro- vided to customers. GO's mobile network recognised as Malta's fastest