Early career scientists win prestigious prize for entrepreneurial skills
Winning Bioscientists: (from left to right) Lizzy Day, Fan Cheng,
Sarah Leigh-Brown, Harry Harris and Daniel Naujoks
A team of early career scientists from University of Cambridge and Imperial College London has beaten off competition from 13 other teams to win a national competition that rewards exceptional entrepreneurial skills. Their hypothetical company, Gluten Replacement Technologies Ltd, which produces an imaginary product called GlutaSafe – a cheap, non-allergenic gluten replacement – impressed the judges at the final of the Biotechnology Young Entrepreneurs Scheme (Biotechnology YES). Biotechnology YES is run annually by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the University of Nottingham Institute for Enterprise and Innovation (UNIEI).
Team members Lizzy Day, Fan Cheng, Sarah Leigh-Brown, Harry Harris and Daniel Naujoks all began their careers together as undergraduates in the University of Cambridge department of genetics. Fan, Lizzy, Harry and Sarah have stayed on at Cambridge for postgraduate study, while Daniel has moved to Imperial College London. All are working towards a PhD. The team received mentoring and coaching to develop skills in developing a business plan; commercial and marketing strategies; raising and managing finance; and patenting strategies.
Gluten Replacement Technologies Ltd made it through the first ever regional heat to be held in the East of England, which is supported by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) and ERBI. Yesterday they joined 13 other teams in the final at One Whitehall Place, London. They walked away at the end of a gruelling day of pitches and head-to-head competition, with the Biotechnology YES 2009 title, £1000 prize money, tickets to the Bioindustry Association (BIA) gala dinner and the chance to present their hypothetical product at the Rice Business Plan Competition in Houston, Texas.
Science and Innovation Minister Lord Drayson said: "Congratulations to Gluten Replacement Technologies Ltd. The UK leads the world in bioscience research, so winning Biotechnology YES means overcoming stiff competition. I hope these young scientists go on to successful careers in which they exploit the full promise of their research”.
Professor Sir Tom Blundell, Chair of BBSRC, who attended the regional heat in Cambridge, said: “Having been involved with the launch of Biotechnology YES in 1995, it has been good to see that the competition continues to grow from strength to strength. The standard is remarkably high and the ideas people have come up with are certainly innovative. I would like to congratulate all the finalists for their impressive achievements and acknowledge the hard work everyone has put in to developing their ideas.
“This competition is an excellent opportunity for scientists to develop important skills for commercialising research, and indeed these scientists now have a good grasp of finance, marketing and intellectual property. UK science has great potential and researchers must recognise and realise that potential for social and economic benefit in the UK and beyond. The participants in the competition should be commended for their commitment to developing the skills to make this happen for their own research.”
Lizzy Day, Managing Director of Gluten Replacement Technologies Ltd said: “Winning this competition is the icing on the cake; this has been an incredibly valuable experience for us throughout. We are confident that we now have the skills required to approach a real life product and take the necessary steps to bring it to market. This is a really exciting prospect and could take us down some new avenues with our research and in each of our careers.”
Biotechnology YES is an annual competition, now in its 14th year, that aims to help the UK's early career bioscientists gain the skills and understanding needed to turn research into commercial reality. Year on year the competition grows in popularity and the additional heat in the east of England has been a great success with teams from the Animal Health Trust, University of Cambridge and University of East Anglia represented in the final 14, and of course a win for Cambridge.
Prizes were also awarded to:
- SynthiBac (University of Sheffield) - The Pfizer Prize for Innovation
- Affinity Medical Enterprises (University of Bristol) - Best healthcare business plan, sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline
- Elite Spec (Cranfield University) - Best medical technology, the Smith Nephew Prize
- Gluten Replacement Technologies (University of Cambridge/Imperial) - Best plant science business plan, sponsored by Syngenta
- Mitee Solutions (University of Edinburgh) - Best consideration of IP strategy sponsored by Potter Clarkson
- Epidene (University of Durham) - Best team presenters sponsored by Biotechnology YES
(2008) prev < - Past Competitions