A Stroud medical equipment company awarded PPE contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds is continuing its rapid expansion.

Platform 14, ran by former Conservative councillor for Stroud Steve Dechan, has been given special accreditation to produce and market a pain relief device in Britain and Europe.

After nearly four years of investigation into the claims of the device, Platform 14 has just been given neuro modulation certification for its BioWaveGo product.

And Mr Dechan, whose company has supplied £300 million of PPE to the NHS and is now supplying lateral flow and saliva tests, has taken a 12 per cent stake in the BioWave Group in the United States - which has been producing the pocket-sized device for the American market for the last 14 years.

Mr Dechan previously admitted he has been able to invest ‘quicker than we thought we would’ in BioWave after winning the contracts to supply gowns and face shields.

The BioWaveGo device is already being used by several Premier League football clubs and horse racing trainers to cope with pain. And Platform 14 have also become one of the ground sponsors at Rangers in Glasgow where players have also been using the device.

Platform14 are now expanding their Stroud operation to manufacture and assemble the devices. By the end of this year, Platform 14 aims to employ 25 people from the Stroud area at their new Griffin Mill manufacturing and distribution centre.

“We are actively helping elite sports people with their pain issues”, said Steve, 52, who is an ultra-marathon runner himself.

“BioWaveGo is able to help these elite sports people through pain as they are unable to take certain drugs. In America, we have had great success with the pain treatment of NFL and ice hockey players.”

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The product transmits high frequency electric signals to change the behaviour of nerves and prevent pain from reaching the brain.

“Our aim is to remove chronic pain for thousands of people without the use of drugs”, Steve said.

The World Institute of Pain’s president-elect, Dr Dominic Hegarty, has joined the board of Platform14 to help the introduction of BioWaveGo to the UK and European market.

Dr Hegarty said: ”For the millions of people that experience pain that prevents them from everyday tasks such as shopping, driving their cars or walking the dog, having the ability to provide an effective, reliable and affordable pain therapy is fundamental in the personalisation of pain management.”

It has taken two-and-a-half years for Platform 14 to convince the British and European regulators that the pain relief claims of BioWaveGo are medically substantiated.

Platform 14 was set up as a medical equipment supply company nine years ago in Stroud but has expanded significantly since the awarding of government contracts to provide PPE during the Covid pandemic.

Steve Dechan, who was a Stroud Town councillor at the time the initial contracts were awarded but has since stood down, came under scrutiny for the way they were awarded but has always denied any wrongdoing.

“One of the frequent questions I am asked”, he said, "Is have we used the Covid PPE business to expand our company into BioWave.

“The answer is yes-absolutely. Having said that our ethos is that we did not profit hugely for the supplies to the NHS. They were supplied on very low margins.

“We were a medical company before the pandemic- unlike many others who supplied PPE to the government.

“And we are still a medical company supplying the NHS.”