2 FUTURENORTH BIONOW AWARDS


26 June 2018 The North’s game-changers


Cream of the region’s life sciences celebrated at Bionow’s awards dinner


The outstanding contribution made to life sciences by entrepreneur Dr Stephen Little, chief executive of AIM- listed molecular diagnostics company Premaitha Health, was recognised at the 16th annual Bionow Awards. Dr Little, who led Premaitha


through its successful AIM listing in July 2014, has an impressive track record of building biotech businesses and creating value. He is the former CEO of DxS, an innovator in the field of personalised medicine, develop- ing and manufacturing companion diagnostics. DxS was funded with £3.5m in 2001


and was sold to QIAGEN in 2009 for £85m. Before DxS, Dr Little worked for 20 years in various senior positions in the diagnostic divisions of Astra- Zeneca and ICI. He holds a PhD from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. In the highly sought-after Company


of the Year category, Keele Science Park-based Cobra Biologics was tri- umphant. Cobra, an international con- tract development and manufacturer of biologics and pharmaceuticals, is in the midst of a £15m expansion pro- gramme in the UK and Sweden. The company, which manufactures DNA and viral vectors for the gene therapy market, exports 98% of its products. A £1.4m fundraising by University


of Manchester spin-out company Microbiosensor, which develops dis- posable point-of-care medical devices, was named Investment Deal of the Year, while Peter Chater a research associate at the University of Newcas- tle won in the prestigious Promising Technologist of the Year category. Celebrating the outstanding leaders


and innovators in the life sciences sector in the North of England, the Bionow awards ceremony was at- tended by more than 400 people at a gala dinner. “The critical importance of the life sciences sector has been acknowledged in the Government’s new Industrial Strategy,” said Dr Geoff Davison, chief executive of Bionow. “It is hugely pleasing to see new


financial support and a clear focus on supporting R&D-focused businesses and encouraging collaboration with the NHS as part of this. Locally, it has been great to see a leading interna- tional company like QIAGEN an- nouncing plans to grow its presence in the North – a clear vote of confidence in our sector.” Dr Davison added: “As ever we had


an incredibly strong shortlist and all are to be commended for their innova- tion in providing solutions which have the potential to be game-changing in the industry. Steve Little is unques- tionably one of the most successful entrepreneurs in our sector and he thoroughly deserves recognition for what he has achieved.” The 2017 awards, which recognised


excellence, outstanding achievement and enterprise in a sector that is worth £11bn to the North’s economy, were sponsored by Manchester Science Partnerships, Appleyard Lees, and World Courier.


Celebrating the outstanding leaders and innovators in the life sciences sector


The winners


Bionow Start Up of the Year Award (sponsored by RSM) APCONIX A team of world-renowned nonclini- cal safety experts with more than 300 years of drug discovery and develop- ment expertise, committed to advanc- ing drug safety. The team covers all safety disciplines, drug technologies and therapeutic areas. The integrated electrophysiology laboratory gener- ates high quality data in a key area of drug safety research.


Bionow Healthcare Project of the Year Award (TRUSTECH) SKY MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY / JAMES COOK UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL SOUTH TEES NHS TRUST Project: Reducing the time to surgery for ankle fracture patients. This part- nership generated clinical and health economics data which directly lead to the adoption of the gekoTM


device for


the control of pre-operative oedema in ankle fracture patients demon- strating significant patient benefits, NHS cost savings and an NHS derived health economic business case that is now generating revenues internation- ally.


BionowProject of the Year Award (Waters Corporation) UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER Project: Test for the management and assessment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. The product offers the first efficient way to manage inflamma- tory bowel disease (IBD). It provides a non-invasive method to differentiate IBD from IBS, reducing the require- ment for endoscopies, providing a robust prognosis for improving symp- tom management and patient care.


BionowProduct of the Year Award (The Innovation Agency) CRAWFORD HEALTHCARE Product: KerraContact Ag.A ground-breaking, patented silver wound dressing developed and com- mercialised in the North West by Crawford Healthcare and available internationally. Clinically proven to be faster acting and more potent than competing products, it is the first and only dressing worldwide to utilise silver in its most active state.


Bionow Technical Service Award (Sponsored by Gateley plc) COBRA BIOLOGICS Technical Service: Delivery of Techni- cal Services related to the process development and manufacture of Plasmid DNA for Gene Therapy Products in clinical trials. Cobra has a global reputation for the production of DNA. Within this technical service offering we develop a process model (USP and DSP), scale up and then produce DNA at either non-GMP (“HQ DNA”) or GMP. Associated services include QC and analytics, fill/ finish and final Drug Product Release.


Bionow Business Services Award (Sponsored by World Courier) INNOVATION AGENCY Business Service: Healthcare Busi- ness Connect.Providing businesses with access to, and enable collabora- tion with, the health and social care sector to accelerate the adoption and spread of innovation. The agency helps SMEs to understand the complex systems and commercialise their products / services and supports larger organisations to collaborate on large scale pathway transformation projects.


BionowPromising Technologist of the Year Award (Sponsored by Seqirus) PETER CHATER, POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY Peter’s achievements include: l Developed upper Gastro-intestinal model (PCT/GB2014/053449) l Led market research to identify need/opportunity for integrated GI model l Secured BBSRC Follow on Fund- ing to develop novel integrated di- gestion/absorption model l Secured and delivered commer- cial projects with: FMC Biopolymer, Suntory, Oxford Pharmascience and more l Leading spinout activities.


BionowInvestment Deal of the Year Award (Sponsored by QIA- GEN) MICROBIOSENSOR LIMITED Deal: Series A investment in Mi- crobiosensor by Catapult Ventures andMaven Capital Partners. This deal transforms Microbiosensor Ltd. from a University spin-out company with solid grant funding to a venture-backed business with sufficient capital to CE mark and launch its two lead products. These products have the potential to impact major global medical device markets, and deliver healthcare benefits to vulnerable patient groups, together securing savings of up to £20m p.a. for each European national health- care provider.


BionowOutstanding Contribution Award (Sponsored by Sci-Tech Daresbury) DR STEVE LITTLE, CHIEF


EXECUTIVE OFFICER, PREMAITHA HEALTH PLC Dr Little is a biotechnology entrepre- neur, industry pioneer and an expert in the development and commer- cialisation of molecular diagnostics. A passionate advocate for Manchester and the North West as an ideal loca- tion for biotechnology companies, he is a highly respected personality both within the region and throughout the global diagnostics industry. Dr Geoff Davison, CEO of Bionow, commented: “Dr Little is unquestionably one of the most successful entrepreneurs in our sector and he thoroughly deserves recognition for what he has achieved.”


BionowCompany of the Year Award (Sponsored by AstraZen- eca) COBRA BIOLOGICS Cobra provides a comprehensive biologics and pharmaceuticals service offering, with multi-functional and experienced project teams nurturing customers’ products from pre-clinical through to clinical and commercial manufacture within three GMP ap- proved facilities.


A not-for-profit membership organisation, Bionow supports the North of England’s burgeoning life sciences sector, which currently includes more than 1,000 science and healthcare companies with a combined turnover of around £11bn. Bionow’s member base includes start-ups and spin-outs as well as well- established businesses. The services it offers to firms include dedicated business support programmes, shared procurement schemes and recruitment and training support. www.bionow.co.uk


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