One of Britain's best-known female scientists, Baroness Susan Greenfield, is to start a second Oxford University spin-out company, following the failure of her first.

Baroness Susan Greenfield

The new business, called Neuro Diagnostics, has raised £50,000 to commercialise a discovery by Baroness Greenfield, who was named one of the "50 most inspirational women in the world" by Harpers magazine.

Entrepreneur Bruce Savage -- founder of Banbury company Cytocell, which was sold last year -- is helping to set up the company. He is seeking a further £100,000 from investors.

Baroness Greenfield, 53, and Dr David Vaux, a molecular biologist, patented the so-called Synaptica peptide, a chemical thought to spark the vicious circle resulting in the death of brain nerve cells and the shrunken brain characteristic of Alzheimer's disease.

The new company will use the discovery to develop a diagnosis for Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, rather than look for a cure, like her first spin-out company, Synaptica.

Synaptica, launched at Harwell six years ago, aimed to find the root cause of Alzheimer's and develop drugs to block the destruction of brain cells.

But chief executive Mike Capaldi was made redundant last year, along with 20 researchers and other staff, when the company ran out of money.

Synaptica had raised about £6m from Oxford Technology Venture Capital Trust, 3i, and individual business angels including Sir Martin and Lady Wood, founders of Oxford Instruments.

Prof Savage said: "Susan Greenfield had this idea left over, which she felt warranted a separate company.

"We will keep it very small at first. Some more work needs to be done to see whether this diagnostic marker does have some value."

Baroness Greenfield is at the centre of a row at the Royal Society, where several members have threatened to resign if she is elected, saying her academic credentials are unworthy of the elite club.

She was not available for comment, but her office said in a statement: "Neurodegenerative diseases include Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and motor-neurone disease, of which Alzheimer's is one of the three major killers in the developed world.

"A possible marker for neurodegenerative diseases, with some promising data to support it, has been discovered by Baroness Professor Greenfield's group in Oxford. This marker should make it possible to detect these diseases early and to monitor their progression and response to treatment."