TORONTO (PRWEB)
June 08, 2021

Canada-based manufacturer uFluidix has doubled its manufacturing capacity to meet the increased demands for Microfluidics triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic. This surge in demand is based on two factors; the need for volume manufacturing of Covid-19 test cartridges and the influx of new clients who had received government funding to develop novel tests.

During the first half of 2020, there was an explosion of government funding for developers or manufacturers of Covid-19 diagnostics. Consequently, Microfluidics manufacturers faced not only an increase in demand but also an increase in rush delivery timelines that were often unrealistic. Manufacturers, like uFluidix, had to decide whether they should either increase capacity to meet new demands, drop some existing clients to open up capacity, or opt-out of Covid-19 related projects and continue with business as usual. CEO of uFluidix, Aarash Sofla says “uFluidix has been at the center of efforts for developers of point-of-care systems to detect Covid-19. The multi-million dollar question facing uFluidix during 2020 has been what is the post-pandemic outlook once we invest capital to meet the current unusual demand?”

The problem is one of business growth, projections, and ethics. uFluidix is a custom manufacturer of Microfluidics. About half of its business comes from growing startups, small ventures or academic institutions. Their clients rely on the continuous and reliable delivery of Microfluidic devices and chips for a multitude of medical applications, including cancer treatment, cell studies, fundamental biological research, or rare disease testing and therapies. Any interruption of uFluidix services could seriously damage their clients’ research, medical developments and overall business.

Aarash Sofla continues, “We had to make a choice between lucrative orders for cartridge manufacturing to fight the pandemic or continue to serve our long-term clients. Instead, we found a compromise. Some of our existing clients had paused their orders due to work-from-home circumstances which decreased the strain on our resources. We also decided to double our manufacturing capacity. As a result, we have been able to assist in several pandemic-related projects.”

Consequently, uFluidix has not only been able to support its long-term clients and meet the demands of Covid-19 related projects, but also continued its philanthropic programs. These programs support the Microfluidics community, including academic collaborations, the Microfluidic Circle and their annual prototyping grant competition. Every year uFluidix offers a prototyping grant to winners of the Microfluidic Circle Prototyping Grant. The international grant competition showcases the latest developments in the Microfluidics field, fosters collaboration, and offers an opportunity for the winner to receive $50,000 USD worth of production and development services from uFluidix.

The latest winners of the Microfluidic Circle Prototyping Grant, Phytoform Labs, received its grant support during the pandemic. Phytoform Labs is a startup aiming to utilize Artificial Intelligence and gene editing for the sustainable production of safe and new traits of crops. William Pelton, CEO of Phytoform Labs, says “The grant allowed us to prototype a large number of new chip designs which rapidly improved on our original chip design to move beyond the prototype phase and into the final development phase. The device will provide us with the confidence and ability to significantly expand our range of projects and the species of crops we work on.”

Clearly, uFluidix is on the cutting edge of the Microfluidics industry. This success is largely due to its valuable expertise, high standards of professionalism, superior quality control, thoughtful and proactive business expansion, and dedication to supporting research and development in the field.

More About uFluidix:

Leaders in the custom fabrication of Microfluidic devices made of PDMS and thermoplastics, uFluidix has confidential cleanroom production facilities, fully equipped with state-of-the-art, custom-made manufacturing equipment, and uses proprietary processes to produce affordable and high-fidelity Microfluidic chips. In addition to providing fabrication services, uFluidix has proven its value as a full-service development partner to the creators of Microfluidic solutions.

Share article on social media or email: