Luton company joins international consortium to produce ventilators

Smiths Medical International Ltd is ramping up production of its paraPAC plus™ ventilator at its Luton site to meet increased demand from the UK and across Europe during the coronavirus pandemic.

Smiths Group, the global technology company, is part of a UK Consortium working to deliver the UK Government target of 20,000 ventilators by making available the Smiths paraPAC plus™ device, of the 20,000 ventilators, 5,000 will be produced by Smiths.

Smiths Medical International Ltd, is based at Bramingham Business Park, Enterprise Way, in Luton.

A consortium of significant UK industrial, technology and engineering businesses has come together to produce medical ventilators for the UK.

The VentilatorChallengeUK Consortium is led by Dick Elsy, CEO of High Value Manufacturing Catapult, a group of manufacturing research centres in the UK.

The consortium has been working hard to investigate production of a range of ventilator design options to meet a high-level specification for a Rapidly Manufactured Ventilator System (RMVS) developed by clinicians and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The consortium has evaluated all requirements to design, manufacture, assemble and test components, as well as finished medical ventilators. Companies in the consortium have now received formal orders from the Government.

The consortium will now accelerate production of an agreed new design, based on existing technologies, which can be assembled from materials and parts in current production. The device combines existing proven clinical equipment and is the clinicians’ first choice for the RMVS.

The regulator has been involved throughout and the consortium anticipates a straightforward and very prompt regulatory sign off after the final audit.

The consortium is now working at full speed to take the necessary steps in order to increase production of this design.

The VentilatorChallengeUK consortium is committed to playing its role in delivering both medical ventilator designs to the required specifications and, in conjunction with these other companies, organisations and groups, aid the delivery of additional ventilators to the NHS.

The companies involved have taken many of their people from key company projects to do this and serve the national need.

Dick Elsy, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult’s chief executive, said: ““I’m very pleased to confirm that we have now secured MHRA approval for the Penlon Prima ESO2 device which has been undergoing stringent testing and clinical trials for the last two weeks.

"Ventilators of this type are complex and critical pieces of medical equipment so ensuring the absolute adherence to regulatory standards and meeting clinical needs were always our priorities. We will now accelerate the ramp up of production at the Penlon site in Oxfordshire and the new VCUK production lines we’ve built in Broughton, Dagenham and Woking.

"Having already commenced deliveries of the Smiths Group’s paraPAC plus devices, we are working closely with our supply chain partners to rapidly scale up production to achieve our target of at least 1,500 units a week of the combined Penlon and Smiths models.

"I want to take this opportunity to again thank every member of the consortium and the hundreds of dedicated colleagues who have been working day and night to get us to this point.”

Andrew Reynolds Smith, CEO of Smiths Group, said: “It is our duty and an honour to be supporting the UK Government to save as many lives as possible.

"We are playing a key role working with the Ventilator Challenge UK Consortium to put in place the production and component capability to increase manufacturing of our lightweight portable ventilator as fast as possible.

"It is inspiring to work with the very best UK Technology and Engineering companies with a spirit of grit and determination to deliver these life saving devices to our incredible health service.

"I am proud of the tireless work that our people at Smiths and those working across this extraordinary consortium of British companies are doing to make a real difference.

"Outside of the UK, we are also supporting the global fight, and are working hard with consortia and governments across the world to make our ventilator technology available to them.”