Biotech innovators honoured at OBN 2022
20 Nov 2022
Rising stars of the biotech world were once again thrown in the spotlight at the annual OBN awards with 11 firms winning in 12 categories.
Now in their 14th year, the event honours companies at all development stages of development and focuses on innovation, leadership, development and tangible results.
OBN CEO Stuart Rose said that at a time when the life sciences industry faced severe challenges, the awards honoured those whose endeavours had been most impressive.
He stated: “This year has seen not only the largest number of entrants in our 14-year history but also the quality has been extremely high, making the final judging no easy task. Congratulations go to all the finalists and winners of the 2022 OBN Awards.”
Among the victors Microplate DX distinguished itself by winning two awards – for best start-up medtech and medtech ‘One to Watch’.
The full list of winners of the OBN 2022 Awards include:
Best Start-up Biotech Company: Alvin Therapeutics
Nottingham University spinout drug discovery company developing safe and effective medicines for patients with life-threatening fibrotic diseases through targeted integrin therapies.
Best Emerging Biotech Company: Quell Therapeutics
for developing engineered T-regulatory (Treg) cell therapies to address serious medical conditions driven by the immune system.
Best Start-up Medtech Company: Microplate DX, specialising in rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing diagnostics, enabling clinicians, at the point-of-care, to confidently select the best choice of antibiotic to treat a patient’s infection.
Best Emerging Medtech Company: Panakeia Technologies, whose software provides 4,500 multi-omic cancer biomarkers in minutes, without need for lab tests.
Most Transformative Digital Healthcare Company: ieso Digital Health, a data-driven AI mental healthcare company inventing next-generation digital therapeutics.
Most Impactful Business Support Organisation: LifeArc medical research charity, specialising in early-stage translation, advancing lab-based scientific discoveries for development into next generation of diagnostics and treatments.
The BioSeed 'One to Watch' – Therapeutics: Halo Therapeutics, developing self-administered pan-coronavirus antivirals to combat COVID-1.
The BioSeed 'One to Watch' – Medtech: Microplate DX
Best CRO: RSSL, the CRO working with clients to scope, develop and manufacture innovative drug products.
Most Impactful UK Deal : RQ Biotechnology for its deal with AstraZeneca resulting in a landmark licence agreement with AstraZeneca within a year to develop, manufacture and commercialise promising early-stage mAbs against SARS-CoV-2.
Best Established Biotech Company: Bicycle Therapeutics. The biotech company pioneering a new and differentiated class of therapeutics based on its proprietary bicyclic peptide technology.
Special Recognition: Chris Molloy for his advocacy for life science innovators during his tenure as CEO of the UK Medicines Discovery Catapult.
