Three University of Ulster researchers have scooped a top prize in a pan-European enterprise competition that rewards experts who turn research into tangible products.

Academic entrepreneurs Dr Neville McClenaghan, Professor Peter Flatt and Professor Finbarr O’Harte, who established University spin-out company Diabetica Ltd in 2004, won the inaugural ACES Academic Enterprise Award 2008 for innovation in Life Sciences at a ceremony in Stockholm.

The trio were given the accolade in recognition of their success in translating their research advances in tackling diabetes, obesity and related metabolic conditions into high-value commercial opportunities through Diabetica.

Dr McClenaghan said: “This award celebrates the achievements of University academics like ourselves who can potentially offer new tools and strategies for the treatment, cure and prevention of major diseases. Importantly, too, it shows that there is no geographical monopoly on a good idea. So, while setting up a sustainable life sciences company in Northern Ireland is, arguably, not as easy as some other regions, I hope our success will be an inspiration to others in our sector.”

Five ACES prizes were awarded by the Science|Business Innovation Board, a blue-ribbon panel of leaders in industry, academia, and policy, including chief operating officers of major companies, University Presidents, and European statesmen, at a ceremony in Sweden’s Royal Academy of Engineering.

In addition to Ulster, the prizes went to spin-out companies from academic institutions in the Netherlands, Italy, England, Scotland and Sweden. They covered enterprise in different categories tackling major issues of health, the environment, security, and technology transfer.

Diabetica’s primary business is development of a new generation of long-acting “smart therapeutics” for treatment of diabetes and obesity, to be taken to market through agreements with world-leading pharmaceutical companies.

The company was formed to translate research discoveries from Ulster University’s Diabetes Research Group into novel therapeutics, diagnostics and other innovative technologies for diabetes, obesity, and the metabolic syndrome.

With diabetes and obesity representing major global healthcare challenges, the bio-pharmaceutical industry is investing heavily in those areas, creating significant opportunities for the development of Diabetica’s technologies and products.

Dr McClenaghan, who is Chief Operating Officer of Diabetica and Head of the School of Biomedical Sciences, said: “Receiving an ACES award is both a great honour and remarkable achievement given the extremely high standard of entrepreneurs and businesses that were short-listed in each category.

“The wide scope of the Life Sciences category together with the diversity in expertise, focus and achievements of the short-listed businesses, illustrates the high level of excellence in academic enterprise across Europe and makes winning this award particularly special.”

A selection committee comprising representatives from 27 European universities and research institutes chose the finalists, who spoke on their activities, innovations and spin-out businesses at an Academic Enterprise Conference held at the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm – home of the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine.

The winners were announced at a gala dinner at the IVA-Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering where Dr McClenaghan received the award on behalf of himself and his two colleagues.

He said: “This award is also particularly gratifying as it helps put the University of Ulster, Coleraine and Northern Ireland on the map for entrepreneurship and academic enterprise. I also hope that it will help raise the profile and public awareness of diabetes research in Europe and the great efforts to find creative new solutions to tackle the emerging ‘diabesity’ epidemic”.

Notes to Editors:

• With at least 171 million reported cases of diabetes worldwide – a figure set to more than double by 2030 (WHO) and currently consuming some 10% of Western healthcare budgets, diabetes represents one of the world’s major healthcare problems.
• Diabetica’s academic co-founders have each played a fundamental role in the generation of a portfolio comprising 16 key patents and other intellectual property (IP), providing the impetus for technology exploitation through the company.
• Of Diabetica’s growing IP and patent estate, a major focus has been on proprietary and unique GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) platform technology, which has caused considerable excitement across the bio-pharmaceutical industry.

Ends

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David Young
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