Month: September 2024

Guests from across the globe gathered in Irvine earlier today to support XLCC, the British company building a world-class HVDC (high voltage direct current) subsea cable manufacturing facility in Hunterston on Scotland’s West Coast in North Ayrshire, which is a £1.7 billion project which will support 900 new jobs. This was the official opening of its new 12,500sq training facility in Irvine, with prominent Scottish businesswoman and entrepreneur, Dr Marie Macklin CBE, delivering a speech with hope and aspiration at its heart.

Dr Macklin has had a strong relationship with XLCC since 2023 when XLCC chose the HALO Enterprise & Innovation Centre, Kilmarnock, as its first base in Scotland for its management team and apprentices, making it fitting that Dr Macklin was invited to play a key role in this milestone day for the business.

During her speech, Dr Macklin focused on the need to support Scotland’s talented young people with a wide variety of opportunities, boosting STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) roles in Ayrshire and beyond. The importance of all this coming together in order to support Scotland achieve its ambitious net zero targets, whilst boosting the local economy, played a key role in Dr Macklin’s address.

Commenting on the opening of the XLCC training facility in Irvine, Dr Marie Macklin CBE said:

“It was a privilege to be asked to officially open this fantastic facility by XLCC, in what is another exciting day for businesses and the communities of Ayrshire. XLCC will be supercharging the next generation of HVDC rollout and driving an SME supply chain for Ayrshire, Scotland and UK.

“With wider investment, extensive training and green jobs at its heart, I’m thrilled to support XLCC as we all play our part in driving forward the fourth industrial revolution, putting Ayrshire and Scotland at the forefront of the ‘Just transition’, not just for today but for our children’s children. I look forward to continuing to work with XLCC in the years to come and congratulate XLCC CEO, Ian Douglas, all his team and partners involved from the bottom of my heart.”

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(Marie pictured with CEO, Ian Douglas and apprentices.)

The opening of the 12,500 sq. ft training facility marks a crucial milestone in XLCC’s development and was accomplished with the visionary support of Scottish Enterprise, who provided a £200,000 grant towards the fit-out of the unit with office, conference, and welfare facilities. The new facility will be XLCC’s main training hub for its cable joiners who will be based at the state-of-the-art factory in Hunterston which was supported in 2023 by North Ayrshire Council when planning was awarded.

Dr Marie Macklin CBE, prominent Scottish businesswoman and entrepreneur has announced a new initiative to support local pensioners in East Ayrshire, offering complimentary meals to those in need in the HALO RockMe Café in Kilmarnock.

Following the news that the UK and Scottish governments will be cutting the Winter Fuel Payment in the coming months, affecting older people across the country, Dr Macklin has continued her support for her local community with this latest initiative.

From 1 December 2024 to 31 March 2025, The HALO RockMe Café will be open to pensioners from Monday – Friday, with free meals available three days a week, with potential for this to rise to five days a week if there is sufficient demand. Early discussions are under way with a range of local East Ayrshire businesses who are interested in supporting the initiative and working with local providers to help those most in need.  A key initiative as part of Dr Macklin’s recently announced new direction and new mission for the future, Dr Macklin is committed to personally funding this project and utilising the Café space in the HALO to support those in need.

Dr Marie Macklin CBE said:

“I’m a strong believer in doing everything we can to support those in need, particularly during these difficult economic times. In recent weeks, I have been vocal about my feelings on the recently announced winter fuel and heating payment cuts by the UK and Scottish governments and the impact this will have on thousands of people already struggling to pay for basic necessities like energy, food and housing.”

“My team and I are determined to support the pensioners of East Ayrshire [and across Ayrshire] as much as we possibly can and we hope this newly launched initiative will be the start of this. We also hope it opens up further dialogue with the local business community, wider service providers and local government on how we can come together to support those in need during what is set to be another difficult winter for many out there.”

Marie joined the panel on ‘Scotland Tonight’ to discuss the pertinent topics of the day. The popular Current affairs show tackles the issues behind the headlines from a Scottish perspective, with live studio debate and analysis of all the top stories.

Hosted by broadcaster, Colin Mackay and joined by fellow panellists, Bernard Ponsonby and Miriam Brett, Marie shared her thoughts on the winter fuel allowance, and council decentralisation.

“A worthwhile evening talking about some the issues that I’m passionate about. It was great to meet both Bernard and Miriam, and thanks to Colin and the wider production team for their professionalism and support.” Marie.

The show was broadcast at 10:40pm on STV on Monday 9^th September and is available to watch on STV Player. Watch on STV Player

Marie was invited to join, Matthew Wright’s Sunday show on LBC to share her endometriosis story, and why she’s supporting the pioneering ENDO1000 research project that’s being led by Andrew Horne, Professor of Gynaecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Edinburgh. Director of the Centre for Reproductive Health, University of Edinburgh.

Marie shared her own experience with the debilitating disease, its impact on women across the U.K and the economic argument that ‘something needs to be done’ to find a cure – supporting women’s health and overall wellbeing.

#TALKEndo1000💭

Listen to conversation… 🔽

After battling endometriosis herself, a British entrepreneur backs £1m study hoping to improve understanding of the disease.

Marie Macklin was on a Christmas shopping trip in Glasgow in 1997 when she collapsed in a store and was taken to hospital in severe pain. “My dad arrived and I told him, ‘I’m dying’,” recalled the businesswoman and entrepreneur.

Macklin, then 32, turned out to be suffering from endometriosis, a disease in which cells similar to those that line the womb grow elsewhere in the body and can cause severe, chronic pain. The type affecting Macklin was ovarian endometriosis (sometimes referred to as ‘chocolate cysts’). Macklin’s cysts were bursting inside her.

After an operation, during which Macklin went into cardiac arrest, she awoke to find she had been given a full hysterectomy. “Everything was taken away,” she said. It took months for her to recover.

She is now poised to take up the fight against the disease that so savagely altered her earlier life. Later this month, Macklin – who went on to found the HALO Urban Regeneration Company – will join scientists at Edinburgh University to spearhead a new project, called ENDO1000, aimed at tackling a disease that is now recognised to be a cause of widespread suffering across the globe. “It’s a chance to get even with endometriosis,” she told the Observer last week.

A total of 1,000 patients with endometriosis will be recruited to the project. Over a two-year timeframe, each woman will be asked to record their symptoms and any treatments they try, collect samples of blood, urine, faeces and saliva at home, and be given a smartwatch to monitor their symptoms, as well as the condition’s effect on sleep patterns and other aspects of daily life. Diets will be closely scrutinised and, in collaboration with international teams of scientists, researchers will try to pinpoint genetic and other risk factors that influence the disease’s onset.

Such insights into the causes and triggers of endometriosis are urgently needed, scientists say. The condition is now believed to affect up to 200 million women worldwide. Its most common symptom is chronic pelvic pain as well as pain with menstruation, and pain during sex, urination and bowel movements. Many sufferers also have trouble getting pregnant, while others suffer from severe fatigue.

“It is as common as diabetes in women in the UK,” said Prof Andrew Horne, of Edinburgh University’s Centre for Reproductive Health. “Yet in comparison we know so little about endometriosis. Nor do we contribute anything like the billions that we spend on diabetes every year.

“Once you have diagnosed endometriosis, there is not a great deal that doctors can do except try to alleviate the considerable discomfort that a patient often goes through. Surgery and hormones can often be used to treat them but in around 30% of cases these don’t work or have unpleasant side effects.”

In addition, scans and blood tests are largely ineffective in detecting the condition and it is usually identifiable only by carrying out surgery, said Horne. As a result, women wait on average about seven years before it is possible to get a definitive diagnosis of endometriosis.

Earlier this year, Horne moved a clinical trial of the drug Dichloroacetate for endometriosis patients into its second phase, in the hope it could offer a new treatment for the disease.

He decided to launch the project ENDO1000 last year in order to raise awareness of endometriosis, while also seeking to find new ways to detect the disease and to identify possible new treatments.

“I wanted to start with 1,000 patients that we would monitor very closely and realised I would need a million pounds to get started on the project. But I was getting nowhere. Then I contacted Marie Macklin. I thought she might give us £10,000 or something. But, incredibly, she came straight back to me and told me, ‘I’m not giving you money but I’ll give you my time to help you set up a campaign and raise £1m’. And that is just what she and her colleague, Frank Gormanley, are doing now.”

A crucial point for Macklin is the need to treat endometriosis not just as a health problem. It is also an economic one, she says. “It causes so much pain and discomfort for women and prevents them from working. It affects the economy, and it affects women’s rights,” she told the Observer.

Some studies have indicated that the condition runs in families, but no particular genes have been identified to date. “I think we will find both environmental and familial factors are involved,” said Horne.

Recruitment to the project will begin early next year, with the aim of running ENDO1000 for at least two years, he added. “Hopefully we will learn a lot and be able to start to make a real difference for those suffering from this debilitating condition.”

Link to article: https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/aug/31/endometriosis-study-1000-women-wanted