Scottish Life Sciences Awards winners announced

The winners of 2018's prestigious Scottish Life Sciences Awards were announced yesterday in a ceremony in Glasgow attended by many of the industry's leading players.

The winners with host Des Clarke. Picture: Tina Sorensen

750 people attended the event in Glasgow Hilton last night - marking a return to the city for the first in over ten years as innovators in the burgeoning sector were rewarded.

Established in 1999, the Awards take place annually in February (bad weather forced this year’s ceremony to be rearranged) and are now in their 18th year.

Originally launched by Scottish Enterprise, the Awards are now owned and managed by Speakeasy.

Attendees enjoying the event. Picture: Tina Sorensen

Sponsored by the University of Glasgow and a raft of other leading organisations including GSK, Concept Life Sciences and Merck BioReliance, the awards recognise the success and achievements of Scotland’s internationally-renowned life sciences sector over the last 12 months in areas including innovation, investment, business leadership and collaboration.

The life sciences sector in Scotland currently adds over £4billion a year to the Scottish economy with 700 organisations employing nearly 40,000 people.

Ambitious targets, set by the refreshed Life Sciences Strategy for Scotland in 2017, aim to double the size of the sector to £8billion by 2025.

Another event, the Scotsman Life Sciences Conference, is due to take place this November, also in Glasgow.

Minister for Energy, Business and Innovation Paul Wheelhouse presented this year’s trophies which included two new categories designed to shine a light on the sector’s rising stars.

Mr Wheelhouse said: “Scotland’s Life Sciences Awards Dinner is a great opportunity to see the range and diversity of Scotland’s life sciences industry and to recognise the hugely positive impact that the sector has on Scotland’s economy.

“Record investment in the life science sector sends out a clear message that Scotland is an attractive and dynamic place in which to do business. “It is the therefore always a pleasure to attend these awards and to meet the companies who are helping to shape Scotland’s economic future”

Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak, Vice Principal and Head of College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences at the University of Glasgow provided the keynote address for the sold-out event.

She said: “This is an exciting time in the Life Sciences sector, with Scotland’s SMEs, health service and research-intensive universities well placed to collaborate and take Scotland to the next level in the sector.

“By working together, we can achieve immense health benefits for patients and deliver strong economic returns for Scotland.”

This year’s judging panel included Dave Tudor, co-Chair of the Life Sciences Scotland Industry Leadership Group.

Commenting on the selection process, Dave Tudor said “This year’s awards were particularly hard to judge as we were inundated with nominations across all categories.

“The quality of the winners and finalists was truly outstanding and really demonstrates the calibre of individuals and companies working across the life sciences sector in Scotland”.

This year’s winners are:

Business Leadership Award (2017) – Sponsored by Opportunity North East

Campbell Grant, Founder & CEO, Sitekit Ltd

Rising Stars: Extraordinary Talent (2017)

Dr Caroline Barelle, CEO, Elasmogen Ltd

Innovation Award

Orbital Diagnostics Ltd

Investment of the Year (2017)

NuCana plc

Rising Stars: High Growth Company (2017)

TC BioPharm

Innovative Collaboration

CorporateHealth International with OpenBrolly in collaboration with NHS Highland and the Digital Health & Care Institute

Outstanding Contribution to the Growth of Life Sciences in Scotland

Hugh Griffith, Founder & CEO, NuCana plc