Mirada Medical has been through more change than most companies during its turbulent 12-year history. The company develops medical imaging software solutions which are used by doctors to assist in the diagnosis of cancer.

In its lifetime, it has survived and evolved through six different ownership structures. Despite these changes, the company’s core values have remained consistent throughout to innovate in response to real world clinical need.

In late 2008, Mirada’s current chief executive Hugh Bettesworth led a buyout from the then owners, Siemens Healthcare, and acquired the technologies and customer base which lay at the core of Mirada’s earlier developments.

In doing this, he aimed to bring the company closer to its core market.

Mr Bettesworth said of the buyout: “In Mirada’s very specialised software markets, there is an expectation that companies will respond to changing needs or demands in days or weeks. Such markets, I believe, are better suited to smaller, more agile companies who have the flexibility to move very fast.”

The roundabout route by which Mirada arrived at a management buyout is unusually complex for a company so young.

Mr Bettesworth explained: “I have been working with essentially the same people, products and clinical problems since the day I started more than ten years ago.

“During that time, as the result of various mergers, acquisitions and restructurings, I’ve worked for six different legal entities. Despite the changes, we never lost sight of the goal, specifically, to deliver more accurate, extensive and user-focused clinical solutions.”

Mirada’s founder and current director, Professor Sir Michael Brady, agrees.

He said: “I supported the formation of two technology spin outs from Oxford University’s Medical Vision Laboratory in the late 1990s.

“These merged to form Mirada in 2001. The company was acquired by a United States medical scanner manufacturer in 2003, which was then acquired by Siemens in 2005.

“It is testament to the core strength inherent in Mirada’s vision and technology that the essence of the company has survived and prospered throughout these changes.”

Following the buyout, Mirada moved back to its original home, Innovation House at Mill Street, Oxford, which is managed by Oxford Innovation and has since more than quadrupled in size.

Despite having commenced this phase at the lowest point in the worst economic recession in decades, the company has hit all of its key financial targets, creating 15 new jobs along the way, mainly in Oxford. Mirada is currently financing its own growth from increasing revenues.

“We were very fortunate to get the backing of one of Britain’s most supportive private equity firms, Albion Ventures,” said Mr Bettesworth.

“They funded the original buyout and provided working capital. But our ethos is to trade profitably, and that is what we have done”.

Mr Bettesworth has ambitious growth plans for Mirada.

He explained: “We have invested heavily in our technology over the past year or so, and have demonstrated our ability to develop world class products here at our base in Oxford.

“Now we have the opportunity to grow, in part through increased global marketing activities, but also through further investment in new clinical software technology.”

Prof Brady added: “Because of the exceptionally high calibre of people we can recruit in Oxford, and the very broad range of medical technology research that goes on here, I don’t think there is a better place in the world right now for a company like Mirada to be located.”

Mirada generates about 90 per cent of its revenue from overseas markets, with the lion’s share coming from the USA.

The company plans to expand its European operation in the next few months, and then look further afield to China and other Asian markets.

Mr Bettesworth said: “Cancer is a global healthcare problem, and extended life expectancy and population aging are only adding to its relative importance.

“While regional variations are evident, for the most part Mirada’s technology may be deployed in much the same way in America, Asia, the UK or Europe.

“The bulk of the cost of a software product is its research and development, so if we can add new markets for existing products, these will drive earnings today that we can re-invest in tomorrow’s innovation.”

o Contact: Mirada Medical, 01865 811172.

Web: www.mirada-medical.com o This page is co-ordinated by Oxford Innovation, www.oxin.co.uk