About BDS: Empowering Laboratories, Improving Lives

From the start, we have been driven by a passion for innovation and a commitment to customer success.  It’s in our DNA to empower laboratories and improve patient care.

Our vision

To be the leading provider of high-quality laboratory software, empowering professionals in improving patient care, supporting compliance, and managing sustainability.

We believe in:

Customer Focus

We are dedicated to understanding and meeting the unique needs of our customers.

Innovation

We are committed to developing innovative solutions that address the evolving challenges of the healthcare industry and continue to invest in our products to ensure they are.

Quality

We adhere to the highest standards of quality in all our products and services.

Collaboration

We believe in working collaboratively with our customers and partners to achieve shared success.

Sustainability

We are committed to environmental responsibility and strive to minimise our impact on the planet.

The BDS team: highly experienced lab and development professionals, with decades of specialised industry experience

Guided by a commitment to excellence, our seasoned development team is at the heart of our mission—fuelled by a passion for the impactful software we create, and the market sectors we serve. This dedication propels our technological innovations and empowers end-users to provide unparallelled patient care through our safety-critical software solutions.

Our Leadership Team

Rebecca Stead

Managing Director

Rebecca leads the team at BDS in delivering quality software products while managing the organisation’s long-term strategy. Rebecca has over 17 years’ experience in the medical device software industry, starting her career as a software developer and advancing to Project Manager, SVP of Operations and Development and, since May 2020, Managing Director. Rebecca holds a BSc in Business Information Systems from the University of Liverpool, and an MBA from the Open University.

Shaun Northedge

CEO & Managing Director

Regulated software in diagnostics and laboratory medicine sits close to patient care. When it fails, or when the partnership around it fails, the consequences reach further than a helpdesk ticket. That is what drives how I work, and how I want BDS to operate: as a partner customers can depend on, not a vendor they have to manage.

I am Managing Director (Designate) of Biomedical Data Solutions, taking up the role in early 2027 after twelve years with the business. BDS builds and supports regulated software for laboratories and diagnostics, including LIMS, middleware, instrument connectivity and lab compliance tools, working with global IVD partners including Roche, QuidelOrtho, Werfen, Grifols and Hologic.

My path through BDS started in project delivery and moved through programme management and operations before I joined the Senior Leadership Team four years ago. Along the way I have led Development, Testing, Project Management, Resourcing and Customer Services, so I know what it takes to get regulated software from requirements through verification and validation into live use, and to keep it performing once it is there. We are certified to ISO 13485 and ISO 27001, develop to IEC 62304, and support our partners through IVDR and FDA requirements.

As MD I will lead across Commercial, Quality, Compliance and Operations, with a clear focus: using AI responsibly to improve outcomes for our customers and their patients, while keeping their systems and data secure against an evolving cyber threat landscape.

Before BDS I spent over twenty years in UK financial services, delivering IT projects and services in regulated, high-availability environments. That period built habits that translate directly into medical device software: disciplined delivery, clear governance, and honest communication when the pressure is on.

If you are a diagnostic company, laboratory or healthcare organisation considering a new software product, an extension to an existing one, or a long-term development and support partnership, I would be glad to talk.

Ian Williams

CPO

Chief Product Officer at Biomedical Data Solutions, leading Product, Regulatory, and Commercial strategy for healthcare IT: LIMS, Middleware, Instrument connectivity, and lab compliance software, backed by 35+ years’ Biomedical Science and NHS experience. I work alongside the rest of the C-Suite to shape our product portfolio and long-term growth.

I started out as a qualified Biomedical Scientist, working in Blood Sciences and Transfusion before moving into healthcare IT. Over 35+ years I’ve worked across the NHS, hospital, and laboratory environments; LIMS, order communications, electronic reporting, e-discharge, clinical whiteboards, clinical documentation, blood tracking, and lab-to-lab referral systems. That background means I can talk credibly with clinicians, lab staff, technical teams, and partners, because I’ve done the job they’re describing.

Joining the Senior Leadership Team three years ago, I moved from hands-on delivery to owning our product direction, regulatory compliance, and commercial performance. In practice, that means staying close to end users to understand what’s needed on the ground, while working with partners on how our software gets to market.

At BDS, we partner with businesses to build healthcare IT solutions that meet both their needs and those of their end users. We work across a range of approaches, from fully tailored development on our Enterprise platform, to off-the-shelf tools, particularly on the middleware and communications side. Most are white-labelled, running under our partners’ brand while we handle the build and support, though occasionally under ours. We’re also increasingly building AI-enabled capability into our lab and diagnostics products. Alongside this, our Vigilant platform (VLS) helps labs maintain ISO compliance, covering asset management, stock tracking, task maintenance, and training and competency management.

On top of the solutions themselves, we offer Business Analysis, Regulatory, Cyber Security, and Implementation services. We work closely with many of the leading diagnostic instrument suppliers, including Roche, Werfen, Grifols, Hamilton, Bio-Rad, and Hologic, giving us a detailed understanding of how our software needs to operate across a wide range of instrument and laboratory environments.

I’m always keen to talk to labs, trusts, and partners working through connectivity, compliance, or instrument integration challenges, whether that’s a new build, an off-the-shelf fit, or something in between. If that’s you, get in touch.

Oliver Clarke

CTO

I set technology strategy and lead the teams that deliver it: secure, regulated software and devices for life sciences and healthcare.

I’ve spent nearly two decades in software, moving from writing code to leading engineering organisations. At Stratec Biomedical UK, now Biomedical Data Solutions, I led the database team on a high-throughput molecular diagnostics platform used in labs worldwide, then returned as Architect leading teams on genomics and blood typing software. Since then I’ve grown from leading teams of 8–10 to heading an R&D organisation of around 40 across software, cyber security and medical device development, both onshore and offshore.

Before that, I was a scientist, with a PhD in Bioinformatics from the University of Leeds modelling how proteins fold and misfold. It means I can talk to customers’ scientists, clinicians and quality teams as a peer, not just as “the tech person.”

What I bring:

Setting technical direction that supports business goals, from product roadmap to build-versus-buy and AI adoption decisions
Building and leading multidisciplinary teams of up to 50 across software development, testing, IT and cyber security, onshore and offshore, in regulated environments
Turning regulatory and security requirements into a competitive advantage customers can trust, with hands-on experience of ISO 27001, ISO 13485 and IEC 62304
Representing our technology to customers, partners and stakeholders, and translating complex science and engineering into clear decisions

I’m a keen, practical adopter of AI. Having worked on protein structure prediction, one of AI’s standout successes, I’m especially interested in where it adds real value in diagnostics and healthcare, and how to use it responsibly where safety and trust matter most.

Always happy to connect about medtech, secure software, AI in life sciences, or building great engineering teams.

Our History

Founded in 1983, BDS has a rich history of innovation and growth. We have evolved from a UK-based company focused on donor screening and transfusion medicine to a global leader in laboratory software solutions.

1983

Founded in the UK as  Sanguin International Ltd

1993

The US office (Sanguin Inc.) was opened

2006

Acquired by STRATEC Biomedical

Initially focused on donor screening and transfusion medicine
Expanded to molecular and other disciplines

2011

Name change to STRATEC Biomedical UK Limited

2020

Acquired by TSS (Total Specific Solutions) and became Biomedical Data Solutions Limited (BDS)

Quality and Regulatory Compliance: It's in our DNA

At BDS, we understand that regulatory compliance is critical for our customers. It’s not just about meeting requirements; it’s about ensuring patient safety and maintaining the highest standards of quality. That’s why we’ve built a culture of compliance into everything we do. It’s in our DNA.

Our approach is built on four foundational pillars:

Passion for Patient Safety

Every solution we develop prioritises patient safety as the ultimate goal

Experience in Regulatory Requirements

Extensive experience with regulatory filings, including 510(k) clearance for pooling management and derivative products

Expertise

Our team includes qualified biomedical scientists who understand both the technical and practical requirements of laboratory operations

Partnership Approach

We build strategic partnerships with our customers, developing the right solutions for patient care together

Our Quality Management System is ISO 13485/MDSAP-certified, and we are committed to staying ahead of the curve, constantly monitoring and adapting to evolving regulations to ensure our solutions meet the latest standards. We also prioritise cybersecurity, implementing robust measures to protect sensitive data and maintain the integrity of our systems.

We believe that compliance is not just a box to check; it’s an integral part of delivering high-quality solutions that our customers can trust. It’s in our DNA to support your compliance efforts, giving you the confidence to focus on what matters most: improving patient care.

BDS & TSS

BDS is proud to be a vital part of Total Specific Solutions (TSS) within the broader Constellation Software Inc. (CSI) ecosystem. Our unique position as an autonomous business unit within TSS allows us to deeply understand and effectively serve our customers and market with specialised solutions. The autonomous approach taken by TSS means that BDS can focus their passion, experience and expertise on our customers in our ultimate goal, to improve patient care through laboratory and diagnostic testing and blood safety whilst having access to the vast knowledge and experience across thousands of other software businesses.