A RESEARCH and development led firm in Daresbury has fended off tough competition from across the country to win a spot at the UK's largest innovation show.

Arcis Biotechnology, based at the Innovation Centre, was one of 100 companies to be selected to earn the chance to showcase its products to more than 3,000 attendees at Innovate on Monday, November 9, in London.

Arcis specialises in developing novel solutions for bio-applications across multiple sectors.

Its revolutionary polymerase chain reaction system (PCR), which will be showcased at Innovate, is an ultra-fast two-step protocol for multi-compliant DNA sample preparation.

The ready-to-use kit enables pre-analytical processing of a variety of DNA sample-types in three minutes, with no prior isolation and purification, or requirement, for complex lab instrumentation.

Chief executive Peter Whitehurst said: "We are hugely excited about the launch of PCR direct and delighted to have been selected to showcase it at such a prestigious event.

"PCR direct represents a genuine breakthrough in sample preparation – one that is set to make a truly disruptive impact on the marketplace.

"As such, we firmly believe that Innovate is the perfect platform to help us take our product to the next stage.

"In addition, the north west materials launchpad grant we were awarded for the development of PCR direct was supported by Innovate – so it really is an important event for us to be part of."

Innovate chief executive Ruth McKernan added: "Arcis is a deserved winner and joins a prestigious group of 100 top innovators showcasing their products at Innovate.

"With attendees ranging from international investors, buyers and visionary entrepreneurs to Government and academia, the showcase is a great platform for winning companies."