SCIENTISTS at the University of York have secured £170,000 of funding to develop tools to speed up the creation of new drugs.

Paraytec, a university company established to develop and market the technology, has secured the funding from theViking Fund and private investors in the Viking Club.

The company will produce instruments that use miniaturised ultraviolet detectors that provide more sensitive and accurate analysis of chemical and biological samples.

This quicker process enables biotechnology and drugs companies to screen samples more efficiently - reducing time and costs.

The funding will enable Paraytec to manufacture a range of instruments allowing it to win a share of a $3bn market.

In the past two years, Paraytec has benefited from a range of funding support to improve the technology.

This includes £25,000 from the University of York for prototype development, £25,500 from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council's Follow-On Fund, and £10,000 from the York Innovation Fund, as well as specialist business support and advice from Science City York.

The managing director of the Viking Fund, Andrew Burton, said: "Paraytec has many of the ingredients we look for in an early growth investment - a high-class team, first-rate technology, strong intellectual property and significant market potential for its products."

The instruments were devised by analytical scientists Professor David Goodall and Dr Ed Bergstrm, from the University of York's department of chemistry, together with professor of electronic systems at the University of Sheffield Nigel Allinson, and independent designer Dr Kevin Moon.

The £5m Viking Fund is a venture capital fund set up with government money.