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
andy.smith@obn.org.uk

Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Nina Enegren
Tel: +44(0)20-7638-9571
nina.enegren@citigatedr.co.uk