Nine of the most exceptional and innovative life sciences and medtech companies and industry collaborations from across the Midlands have been recognised as winners of the Medilink Midlands Business Awards 2024.

Held at the prestigious Athena in Leicester on 9 May, the Business Awards 2024 were Medilink Midlands’ most spectacular awards event to date and brought together over 200 guests from across the life sciences and medtech sectors in the Midlands.

In celebration of Medilink Midlands’ 20th anniversary, it awarded a £5,000 prize to the ‘winner of winners’ which was presented on the night to Cytecom, winner of the Delivering Innovation into Health and Care award, sponsored by HORIBA. The Coventry-based company is developing a rapid diagnostic test using its cutting-edge optical electrophysiology technology to reduce the time for targeted antibiotic selection from days to seconds.

Winner of the new Sustainability category, sponsored by Mills & Reeve LLP, was Pennine Healthcare – a Derby-based manufacturer and distributor of single-use, sterile and non-sterile ward and theatre consumables and custom procedure packs. The award recognises Pennine Healthcare’s commitment to addressing the net zero and sustainability challenges affecting the NHS and wider medtech community.

Taking the top spot in the Advances in Digital Healthcare category, sponsored by Shakespeare Martineau, was Black Space Technology Ltd. Based at Birmingham Innovation Campus, the company specialises in scalable and future-proofed mobile telemedicine and telehealth solutions.

Selected by the judges as a business that shows great potential in the One to Watch category, was Warwickshire-based Ademen Ltd, which develops breakthrough sensors for gut monitoring, supporting management of IBS and IBD bowel conditions and post-surgery recovery.

The Export Achievement award, sponsored by JensonR+, went to Nottingham-based contract research organisation Cellomatics Biosciences Ltd; the Innovation award, sponsored by TBAT Innovation, awarded to Leicester-based advanced breath-testing company and winner of last year’s One to Watch, Bioxhale Ltd; and the Start-Up award, sponsored by Pioneer Group, presented to Birmingham’s MESOX Ltd, which is transforming pharmaceutical formulation with its game-changing carrier technologies.

In winning position for the Partnership between Academia and Business award was Healthcare Technologies Institute (HTI), School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Birmingham (UoB) and Salts Healthcare. The award, sponsored by Arise Innovation Hubs and the Medical Technology Research Centre of Anglia Ruskin University, recognises HTI and Salts Healthcare’s collaborative research to discover new medical device innovations.

Upperton Pharma Solutions, the contract development and manufacturing organisation based in Nottingham, scooped the Outstanding Achievement award, sponsored by Charnwood Campus Science Innovation & Technology Park and CPW. The award recognises Upperton’s construction of a new 50,000 sq ft pharmaceutical development and manufacturing facility in ten months.

Melanie Davidson, Chief Executive of Medilink Midlands, says: “It was fantastic to celebrate the incredible innovations and achievements of life sciences businesses in the region at our special awards event marking Medilink Midlands’ 20th anniversary. Our congratulations go to the winners and highly commended organisations on their successes, and thanks to our valued sponsors for supporting the event. The calibre of entrants this year has been outstanding and has demonstrated the true breadth and depth of the region’s capabilities across all areas of health, medtech, and life sciences. We were delighted to present our ‘winner of winners’ Cytecom with a £5,000 prize that will help the company to accelerate and progress its diagnostic testing innovation.”

The full line-up of winners and highly commended in the 2024 Awards, are:

Advances in Digital Healthcare (sponsored by Shakespeare Martineau)
Winner: Black Space Technology Ltd
Highly commended: Select Research

Delivering Innovation into Health and Care (sponsored by HORIBA)
Winner: Cytecom
Highly commended: Informed Genomics

Export Achievement (sponsored by JensonR+)
Winner: Cellomatics Biosciences
Highly commended: Salts Healthcare

Innovation (sponsored by TBAT Innovation)
Winner: Bioxhale
Highly commended: Neurotherapeutics

One to Watch (selected by Medilink Midlands’ independent judging panel)
Winner: Ademen Ltd

Outstanding Achievement (sponsored by Charnwood Campus and CPW)
Winner: Upperton Pharma Solutions
Highly commended: Clinitouch by Spirit Health

Partnership between Academia and Business (sponsored by Arise Innovation Hubs and the Medical Technology Research Centre of Anglia Ruskin University)
Winner: Healthcare Technologies Institute (HTI), School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Birmingham (UoB) and Salts Healthcare
Highly commended: Faculty of Science/School of Psychology University of Nottingham (UoN) & Neurotherapeutics

Start-Up (sponsored by Pioneer Group)
Winner: MESOX Ltd
Highly commended: VUIT Data Labs Ltd

Sustainability (sponsored by Mills & Reeve LLP)
Winner: Pennine Healthcare
Highly commended: Zanzo Facilities Management

Winning organisations from seven of the categories will go forward for the Medilink UK National Awards, taking place on 11 July 2024 in London.

Medilink Midlands is the Midlands life sciences industry association with a vision to stimulate the growth of the Midlands life science sector by helping companies establish, develop, and grow.

For more information, visit: https://www.medilinkmidlands.com/