OBN's 2012 Annual Awards Dinner Celebrates UK Bioscience Success Stories
OXFORD, England, September 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
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OBN's Annual Awards Dinner, last night celebrated the achievements and major success stories in biotech, medtech and diagnostics over the past year at a black tie event at The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. The Awards sought to highlight the many achievements of the UK's bioscience sector in raising funds, executing deals and supporting innovation, as well as the addition of two new awards for 2012 to recognise the "Highest Impact Investor" and the "Best Pharma BD&L Team".
The 2012 award winners were:
Vertex, Best New Biotech Product
Award Presented by Berkley Group
For the second year running, Vertex has had a first in class chemical entity approved by the FDA and the EMEA. Kalydeco[TM] is an ion channel inhibitor designed to address one of the causes of cystic fibrosis and is the first treatment that addresses the underlying etiology of the disease.
Oxtex, Best New Medtech Product
Award Presented by JA Kemp
Oxtex is a manufacturer of anisotropic self-inflating tissue expanders for use in reconstructive plastic surgery and restorative dentistry. For the first time, surgeons will be able to accurately and predictably control the direction, the timing, and rate of the material's expansion in the body significantly reducing the risk of soft tissue damage and associated complications.
London Pharma, Best Emerging Biotech
Award Presented by James Cowper
London Pharma, founded in 2006, is a drug delivery company developing, in the main, already known and registered compounds delivered sublingually through its own unique system. London Pharma's sublingual delivery route is shown to be faster and better absorbed by the body compared with conventional tablets.
FoetoH, Best Emerging Medtech
Award Presented by Team Consulting
FoetoH is a new portable technology for the care of babies before they are born. FoetoH targets foetal health and helps prevent stillbirths by providing a better quality and frequency of foetal monitoring anytime, anywhere and by anyone.
PsiOxus Therapeutics, Best Biotech Fundraiser
Award Presented by Pivotal Scientific
In July 2012, PsiOxus Therapeutics announced its closing of a Series B round of equity financing totalling £22 million, including investments from investors Imperial Innovations Invesco Perpetual, SR One and Lundbeckfond Ventures. The financing round will enable PsiOxus to advance the clinical development of ColoAd1, a systemically available oncolytic vaccine for the treatment of colorectal cancer.
Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Best Medtech Fundraiser
Award Presented by Milton Park
Oxford Nanopore is developing a novel technology for direct, electronic detection and analysis of single molecules using nanopores. The modular, scalable technology platform and miniaturised instrument are designed to offer substantial benefits in a variety of applications including DNA and protein sequencing. In May 2012, Oxford Nanopore announced a further fundraising of £31.4 million making them the largest disclosed fundraiser in the cluster this year.
EUSA Pharma, Best Biotech Dealmaker
Award Presented by Manches
In June 2012, EUSA Pharma was acquired by Jazz Pharmaceuticals for $680 million. The acquisition brings a portfolio of seven products including a significant new specialty product to the Jazz Pharmaceuticals U.S. portfolio including Erwinaze™ (asparaginase Erwiniachrysanthemi), a life-saving treatment for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Smartsensor Telemed, Best Medtech Dealmaker
Award Presented by Ernst & Young
SmartSensor Telemed is developing an e-healthcare and telemedicine platform. The development of their first product, a home use Oral Glucose Tolerance Test, is already being supported by a Swiss pharmaceutical company.
Imperial Innovations, Highest Impact Investor
Award Presented by OBN
In OBN's 2011 biocluster report, Imperial Innovations was the most active investor making six investments between 2008 and 2010. Following on from their successful £140m fundraising in December 2010, Imperial Innovations has continued its investment activity in companies that include Oxford Immunotec, PsiOxus, Abingdon Health, Circassia, PolyTherics and most recently Cell Medica.
AstraZeneca, Best Pharma BD&L Team
Award Presented by World Courier
AstraZeneca started 2012 with the $1.26bn acquisition of Ardea Biosciences and followed this up at the end of June with the $7bn joint acquisition of Amylin with Bristol-Myers Squibb. Not only has AZ's Business Development team demonstrated they can do their own acquisitions but they have also demonstrated the ability to collaborate on acquisitions with other pharma companies as they did first with the acquisition of Novexel in collaboration with Forest.
Dr Jon Rees, OBN's CEO, said: "With the backdrop of a tough financing climate it is great to measure and celebrate the tangible commercial achievements in UK life sciences. As OBN expands its sphere of influence across the UK, we were delighted to welcome a larger number of entrepreneurs from across the UK to the Awards Dinner than any previous year."
**Photographs of the Awards are available on request**
About OBN
OBN is a not-for-profit business network which provides comprehensive support for its member biotech and medtech companies in the South-East England biocluster and the rest of the UK. OBN's activities can be summarised as networking, partnering, group purchasing, and fundraising advice. Through its delivery of Europe's fastest growing biopartnering and investment conference, BioTrinity, OBN generates more R&D-company-to-investor interactions than anyone else in Europe. OBN is sponsored by Shire, as Corporate Patron, and Corporate Sponsors MEPC, Manches LLP, James Cowper, World Courier, Ernst & Young,Interea, Ardington Archives, SRG, georgejames, FOCUS Insurance and Citigate Dewe Rogerson as well as by its extensive membership of R&D companies and associated industry companies across the entire life sciences industry ecosystem.
Contacts
OBN
Andy Smith, Director of Public and Investor Relations
Tel: +44(0)845-5049-715
[email protected]
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Nina Enegren
Tel: +44(0)20-7638-9571
[email protected]
SOURCE OBN
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