Life Sciences Scotland Awards recognise talent in Midlothian
Innovative companies based in Midlothian Science Zone triumphed at Scotland’s Life Sciences Awards 2023, winning three out of the seven award categories.
University of Edinburgh alumna Dr Cameron won the 'Rising Stars: Extraordinary Talent Award' for her work leading Cytochroma, which uses semi-automated technology to manufacture thousands of mini livers simultaneously, made from ethically sourced stem cells, to predict the safety and toxicity of new drugs. The company is based at Roslin Innovation Centre.
L to R: STV weatherman Sean Batty, Dr Kate Cameron and Ivan McKee MSP, Minister for Business, Trade Tourism and Enterprise
Cell and gene therapy manufacturing company RoslinCT won the 'Outstanding Skills Development Award', now employing over 100 staff after spinning out from the Roslin Institute in 2006. The company develops and manufactures cell therapies that can treat cancer, genetic disorders, and other diseases.
Led for many years by CEO Janet Downie, it is now a globally recognised player in cell therapy manufacturing. The company has its HQ and manufacturing facilities on Edinburgh BioQuarter, and has recently taken additional facilities on Edinburgh Technopole, part of the Pioneer Group.
Roslin Technologies won the 'Innovation - Animal Health, Agritech and Aquaculture award for their work developing pluripotent animal stem cells with the capacity to self-renew indefinitely and differentiate into desired end-tissues for meat. This award recognised the innovative approach by the company as well as the potential impact and scale up opportunities.
Founded in 2017 as a venture between two investment firms and the University of Edinburgh, Roslin Technologies was also supported by the University’s in-house venture capital fund, Old College Capital (OCC). The company operate from Roslin Innovation Centre.
OCC also invested in RoslinCT, which received £100m of investment in 2021 from private equity fund, Global Healthcare Opportunities Capital. Edinburgh Innovations, the University’s commercialisation service, supported the team to spin out and also supported Dr Cameron and Cytochroma, who won the Emerging Innovation award at Inspire Launch Grow 2018, as well as Higgs Edge award at Scottish Edge that year.
“Edinburgh Innovations is very proud to have supported these excellent companies and founders and know they will keep going from strength to strength.
The University of Edinburgh’s research is at the cutting edge of life sciences, particularly in biotechnology and digital health, and here at Edinburgh Innovations we work hard to translate that research into real world benefits for patients and society. ”