A PIONEER whose award-winning Upton firm gained worldwide recognition for its groundbreaking innovation in medical diagnostics has died, aged 56, writes Jon di Paolo.

Born in Farnborough, Kent, Philip Mico attended Queen Elizabeth Hospital school, in Bristol, before going on to read microbiology at Birmingham University.

He worked for Boots and completed a masters degree in business administration before setting up Bio-Diagnostics in 1979. The company won three DTI Smart Awards, culminating in a prestigious Smart Achievement Award in 2001, for its work in inventing and marketing the QuickCard test for kidney disease. It also won the inaugural Malvern Hills District Council Platinum Awards in 1999.

Mr Mico's wife Jill described him as a brave, intelligent, loving family man with a strong sense of humour who "loved life and never wasted a moment".

As well as music and history, Mr Mico, an athletics champion at school, had a passion for a variety of sports including golf, football, rugby and skiing.

"He was competitive in all the right ways," said Mrs Mico. "He was a very generous man in his praise of other people and other people's achievements."

Mr Mico was also an active founder member of Colwall Rotary Club and the board of Malvern Hills Science Park.

Carol Tayor, general manager of Bio-Diagnostics, which employs 30 at its Rectory Road base, said she had received messages from all over the world saying how much Mr Mico would be missed.

"He was a great guy to work with and to work for," she said. "He ran a very good company and achieved a lot. He will be missed not only by his colleagues but by the industry."

Mr Mico died on December 11 at Worcestershire Royal Hospital after a long illness. He leaves a wife Jill and children Nicky and Simon. His funeral takes place at Worcester Crematorium today (Friday) at 1.30pm. A service of thanksgiving follows at St James's Church, Colwall, at 3pm.