Five Life Science companies celebrate success at the Medilink East Midlands Business Awards

Added by Love Business East Midlands | 14 June 2018

UPDATED: 14 June 2018

Five companies from across the region were delighted to be selected as winners at last night’s Medilink East Midlands Business Awards.

The Awards, which are held as part of the region’s premier life science event, Innovation Day, recognise organisations in the sector who in the past year have excelled in the categories of Start-up, Export Achievement, Collaboration with the NHS, Innovation and Outstanding Achievement.

The first winning company to be announced was SurePulse Medical, who received the Start-up award sponsored by Nottingham Trent University. SurePulse, who are a joint venture between The University of Nottingham and Tioga Ltd, provide specialised neonatal care and resuscitation monitoring, and are in the process of launching a baby health product which could save millions of lives.

James Carpenter, CEO, SurePulse Medical commented;

‘We’ve had a really exciting first few years and Medilink have been a valuable source of support to us. We’re delighted to have won the Start-up award and will continue to deliver innovative and potentially life-changing solutions to the global healthcare market.’

Contract Research Organisation Charnwood Molecular won the Export Achievement award, which was sponsored by Spectrum Healthcare and Hospital Aids. Over the last 3 years Charnwood Molecular have undertaken a transformation in their business strategy to provide high tech and high value research capability; achievements include recruiting new senior leadership team members and introducing new services which has led to a 131% increase in export sales.  

Steve Allin, Managing Director, Charnwood Molecular, commented;

‘We are honoured to have won the Export Achievement award in recognition of the talent, hard work and commitment of the entire team at Charnwood Molecular. Together we have developed a world-class service offering and we are continually re-investing our profits into company development and infrastructure. This has led to increasing demand from new and existing clients and has been evidenced by significant growth in turnover and particularly exports; our export sales have more than doubled over a two year period.’

The Collaboration with the NHS award, sponsored by the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network, was awarded to Questmark Ltd. Questmark, who supply video consultation solutions, have partnered with the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust to offer health-based teleconsultation services throughout Northern Ireland. Not only did Questmark offer their services free of charge, they have also helped the Trust to secure NHS approval, and the project is now being rolled out across Northern Ireland.

Jodie Bellamy, Operations Director, Questmark, commented; 

‘The success of this project is an excellent example of how video consultations can be used to connect patients to specialist healthcare throughout the country. It’s great that Medilink EM have recognised the value in the services we offer and selected Questmark as winners of the Collaboration with the NHS award.’

Ariane Medical Systems picked up the award for Innovation, sponsored by Potter Clarkson. Ariane Medical works to develop innovative solutions for the treatment of cancers, offering highly innovative systems that can significantly decrease treatment time and offer pioneering alternatives to surgery and stoma bags.

Keith Spanswick, Executive Chairman, Ariane Medical, commented;

‘In the last two years, we’ve gone from focussing primarily on Research and Development, to delivering our innovative and unique treatment systems on an international scale. This is a really exciting time for Ariane Medical, and winning the Medilink East Midlands award for Innovation is a testament to our staff and many partners.’

The Outstanding Achievement award, sponsored by Shakespeare Martineau, recognises companies which have celebrated momentous success or development. Quotient Sciences, a global pharmaceutical development company, won this award in recognition of significant expansion over the past 4 years; including acquiring 4 businesses and gaining over 30 new clients per year. Quotient now employ over 600 people across the UK and US, making them one of the largest Contract Research Organisations in the world.

Mark Egerton, CEO, Quotient Sciences, commented;

‘Responding to growing demand, our workforce has expanded by 240% over the last four years, our operational footprint has increased and manufacturing capacity has tripled. With headroom for even further growth and development going forward, we’re delighted to have had our recent success acknowledged with this award for Outstanding Achievement.’

All five winning companies will go on to be shortlisted for a Medilink UK Healthcare Business Award, with the chance to be crowned national winners just like East Midlands-based Nemaura Pharma and NuVision Biotherapies at the 2018 awards. Next year’s ceremony is set to take place on 15 May at the NEC, Birmingham.

Innovation Day, which is held annually and is now in its 14th year, was held at The Nottingham Belfry and welcomed over 200 delegates. Speakers included Vivienne Parry OBE who hosted the event, Karen Taylor, Research Director from Deloitte LLP and Dr Glenn Crocker MBE, Chief Executive Officer at BioCity.

Dr Darren Clark, Chief Executive, Medilink East Midlands, said;

‘After another hugely successful Innovation Day and Business Awards, it’s great to see so many exciting industry developments coming out of the East Midlands. All five winning companies have demonstrated a high level of expertise and are extremely worthy winners. I’d like to thank the awards sponsors who continue to show their support to Medilink EM and the companies we work with.’

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