Winners Announced for HEE’s NHS Innovation Competition 2017


Health Enterprise East (HEE) announced the winners of its 2017 NHS Innovation Competition during a presentation held at Sturmer Hall, Essex, September, hosted by science writer and broadcaster, Vivienne Parry OBE.


Now in its 11th year, the competition challenges NHS staff and small/medium size businesses across the East of England, East Midlands and London to come forward with innovative ideas for products and services that address unmet needs in the NHS and improve patient services.


The winners shared in a prize fund of £18,000, with also an award, for a clinical entrepreneur or team whose innovative idea is already making a positive impact in the NHS and on people’s lives. Guest Speaker at the ceremony was Dr Steve Feast, Managing Director of the Eastern Academic Health AHSN).


Announced winners were: Clinical Entrepreneur (sponsored by Eastern AHSN)


Kings Lynn Institute of Patient Safety (KLIPS), a team at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kings Lynn led by Drs Young and Mariyaselvam devising, developing,


promoting


inspired medical innovation Diabetes


(supported by a sponsorship from Roche Diabetes Care Ltd)


Joanne Hoare & GooD Pregnancy Network team from Basildon & Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: EGGS (Educating Gestational diabetes Group Sessions) - a new breed of antenatal clinic offering joint education of patients, partners and professionals


Service Improvement


Dr Emma Nickerson & team from Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: Use of model plastic arm and demonstration videos to teach patients to give their own intravenous antibiotics at home


and implementing clinically


Vivienne Parry, OBE Medical Technology


Dr Nawar Al-Zebari & team from University of Cambridge: Novel indwelling urinary catheter device based on smart materials to reduce catheter associated urinary-tract infections


Innovation in Primary Care


Dr Bhavagaya Bakshi & team from Herts Valleys and Luton CCGs: ‘C the Signs’ – a project using technology innovatively to fi ght cancer through early diagnosis


Clinical Enterprise Winners: Kings Lynn Institute of Patient Safety (KLIPS) a team at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kings Lynn. Drs Peter Young and Maryanne Mariyaselvam receiving their clinical entrepreneur award from Dr Steve Feast, Managing Director of Eastern AHSN


SME Innovation


Dr Katrina Spranger & team at Oxford Heartbeat Ltd: Making vascular surgeries more accurate and safe with a technology that helps clinicians plan and rehearse stent placements inside blood vessels


Congratulating the winners and thanking the judges and sponsors, Dr Anne Blackwood, Chief Executive at HEE added: “This year we had a fantastic response with an unprecedented number of entries from the NHS, academia and industry, making the job of our judges harder than ever.”


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GOSH Invests in Research and Innovation Platform Deal


Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (GOSH) has signed a 10 year deal with Aridhia, for the ‘ecosystem’ edition of the company’s cloud based data analysis platform, AnalytiXagility, which will enable research teams to access and extract value information from data in order to accelerate the translation of pioneering research into clinical practice. The new system will be integrated with the Trust’s new Electronic Patient Record system.


Chris Roche, CEO of Aridhia, said: “Great Ormond Street Hospital is world-renowned and it is an


honour to be given the opportunity to support such extraordinary researchers deliver ground-breaking research across multiple clinical domains. For Great Ormond Street to select AnalytiXagility after a rigorous 12-month procurement process is great endorsement of our vision to accelerate clinical research.”


“The Trust was seeking a secure, scalable research platform that would allow their teams to collaborate on analysis and deliver rapid, auditable and reproducible results. AnalytiXagility satisfi es these requirements. We are very much looking forward to working with


Investment to Advance Drug Discovery at Exscientia


Dundee University spin-out Exscientia Ltd has received a €15 million investment from Hamburg-based Evotec AG in exchange for a minority stake, making the German company the fi rst strategic shareholder in the UK- based business. The investment will enable Exscientia, focused on Artifi cial Intelligence (‘AI’)-driven drug discovery and design, to drive higher value partner programmes and expand discovery on its automated platform.


With more than 1,800 scientists, Evotec has one of the largest and leading drug discovery platforms in the industry. The two companies have cooperated since early 2016 to advance small molecules and bispecifi c small molecules in immuno-oncology.


Dr Werner Lanthaler, Chief Executive Offi cer of Evotec, said, “Our investment in Exscientia represents Evotec’s single biggest equity placement to date and in, what we feel, is the world leading AI technology company. Working with Exscientia on a joint immuno-oncology project over the past year, we have experienced fi rst-hand how its AI approaches, along with our medicinal chemistry platform, can positively and radically impact drug discovery. We are very excited about the joint potential to leverage AI in chemistry. This investment is also the fi rst time that we can effi ciently use our recently awarded €75 million loan facility from the European Investment Bank to bring down cost of capital for such an investment.”


Andrew Hopkins


Commenting on the investment, Dr Andrew Hopkins, Chief Executive Offi cer of Exscientia and Chair of Medicinal Informatics at the University of Dundee, added, “Exscientia and Evotec have built a close relationship over the past year sharing mutual interest in agile innovation. We are delighted that Evotec has made this investment for a minority equity stake, allowing Exscientia to deliver more drug discovery projects in a rapid and capital effi cient manner. I’m also delighted that Dr Mario Polywka, Chief Operating Offi cer of Evotec, will join Exscientia’s Board of Directors, allowing us to benefi t from his strong operational expertise in growing successful biotech companies.”


44079pr@reply-direct.com them on this next stage of their research journey.”


Dr Peter Steer, Chief Executive, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children Foundation Trust said: “We look forward to working with Aridhia to develop an innovative platform which will transform the way we undertake and collaborate on research. This will allow us to bring more life-saving treatments to children with rare diseases in the UK and worldwide.”


44084pr@reply-direct.com Sygnature Discovery Presented with a Queen’s Award


Integrated drug discovery solutions provider Sygnature Discovery has been presented with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2017, for International Trade. Company Founder and CEO, Dr Simon Hirst, received the award from Lord-Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, Sir John Peace, during a ceremony held at Sygnature’s new facility, the £30 million Discovery Building in Nottingham. Attended by staff, clients and close contacts of the company as well as The Lord Mayor of Nottingham, Michael Edwards and other dignitaries, the occasion offered an opportunity for guests to view the new Discovery Building, its high-tech laboratories and its Corona sculpture.


Chris Roche


Lord-Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, Sir John Peace, presents Dr Simon Hirst with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2017


Dr Hirst is a Medicinal Chemist with almost 30 years of industry experience, winning the Chemistry World ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ award in 2016. He founded Sygnature Discovery in 2004 and now employs over 170 dedicated scientists researching potential new medicines to treat a range of debilitating diseases. This expertise is exported to clients around the world. “To receive the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise, International Trade is a tremendous honour and the recognition for our success overseas is very gratifying for the whole team at Sygnature Discovery. As a company we have always viewed drug discovery as an internationally important sector to work in and as such, international trade has always been a signifi cant part of our strategy.”


Along with Chief Operating Offi cer, Dr Jonathan Williams, Dr Hirst was also invited to a reception at Buckingham Palace attended by Her Majesty The Queen. “It was a huge privilege and truly humbling experience to be invited to Buckingham Palace to meet members of the Royal Household. Being recognised with a Queen’s Award is something the whole team at Sygnature Discovery can be very proud of as it marks the signifi cant achievements we have made over the last 13 years.”


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