Renovo Group Plc from Manchester has good reason to celebrate.
This evening the British manufacturer of biopharmaceuticals was
awarded first prize in the 2007 EUROPEAN BIOTECHNICA AWARD at the
official opening ceremony for BIOTECHNICA in Hannover. In second place
was the biotech company Genmab A/S from Copenhagen. And third place
went to another Danish company, Bavarian Nordic A/S, which
manufactures biopharmaceutical products in Kvistgaard. Christian
Wulff, the Premier of Lower Saxony, Dr. Karl-Ludwig Kley, Chairman of
the Board of Merck KGaA, Christian Siebert, departmental head at the
European Commission, and Stephan Ph. Kuhne, who sits on the Board of
Management at Deutsche Messe AG, Hannover, presented the prizes in the
presence of more than 500 invited persons from the worlds of science,
business and politics.
This was the fifth successive year in which Deutsche Messe has
awarded the prize - now worth a total of 100,000 euros - to European
companies working in biotechnology and the life sciences which have
developed particularly innovative products, services and associated
business ideas. "We noted this year an increase in the number of
competition entrants, particularly from countries outside Germany.
This is a clear indicator of the growing importance of the
biotechnology industry as a driver of economic growth," says Stephan
Kuhne.
The international jury, made up of distinguished biotech experts
from six countries, selected the three winners from a list of 27
applicants. The criteria for the award were market viability, market
relevance, market presence of products and services, and a promising
marketing concept.
First prize goes to Renovo Group Plc from the United Kingdom
Renovo researches and develops biopharmaceutical products for the
preventive treatment and reduction of scarring. "The winner Renovo
impressed the jury with its high scientific standards, its pioneering
products in a very important area of application that has hitherto
suffered from low standards of treatment, its strong financial
situation and its genuine entrepreneurial spirit," comments Professor
Dr. Peter J. W. Stadler in his capacity as jury chairman.
Renovo receives 20,000 euros in cash. In addition the company will
receive substantive benefits in the form of an exhibition stand at
BIOTECH CHINA 2008 in Shanghai (28 to 30 May), an IPO welcome pack
from the German Stock Exchange, a media package in the "European
Biotechnology News" and a year's membership of the European umbrella
association for the biotechnology industry, EuropaBio, in Brussels.
Genmab A/S and Bavarian Nordic A/S in second and third place
respectively
The second-placed contender Genmab from Denmark develops human
antibodies for the treatment of life-threatening and debilitating
diseases. "Genmab is remarkable for its outstanding technological
base, which has been used to build up a very strong portfolio of
development products, as well as for its extraordinary ability to
transmute all this into financial success for the company," observes
Stadler.
Third place went to the Danish company Bavarian Nordic A/S. This
company develops and manufactures innovative vaccines for the
prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and cancer. "Bavarian
commended itself to the jury by its presentation of an impressive raft
of vaccines currently under development, a clear focus on applications
and a strong financial basis," explains Stadler.
The main prizes for the second-placed and third-placed companies
respectively consist of a ten-day and five-day consultancy course with
consultants Capgemini, with the focus on business strategy and
investment. In addition, both companies will each receive a media
package in the "European Biotechnology News" and a year's membership
of the European umbrella association for the biotechnology industry,
EuropaBio, in Brussels.
The presentation of the fifth EUROPEAN BIOTECHNICA AWARD marks the
formal opening of BIOTECHNICA 2007, which takes place from 9 to 11
October 2007 at the Hannover Exhibition Grounds. 863 exhibitors from
32 nations will be presenting their latest products and developments
from right across the biotechnology spectrum.
Information about previous prize-winners and the terms of entry
for the next competition can be found online at
www.biotechnica-award.de.
Additional press releases and photos can be found at
www.biotechnica.de/pressservice.
EUROPEAN BIOTECHNICA AWARD 2007
5th International Prize for European companies working in
biotechnology and the life sciences
The following competition entrants were presented with the 2007
EUROPEAN BIOTECHNICA AWARD on Monday 8 October 2007 in Hannover.
Bavarian Nordic A/S, B0geskovvej 9, 3490 Kvistgaard, Denmark
Bavarian Nordic is a leading international biopharmaceutical
company developing and producing innovative vaccines to prevent and
treat infectious diseases and cancer. With operations in Denmark,
Germany, the USA, and Singapore, Bavarian Nordic employs over 230
people.
Bavarian Nordic's patented technology, MVA-BN(R), is, as has been
demonstrated in clinical studies, one of the world's safest,
multivalent vaccine vectors for the development of vaccines against
various infectious diseases such as smallpox, HIV/AIDS, as well as
against breast and prostate cancer. Several MVA-BN(R)-based HIV and
smallpox vaccines are in clinical Phase I and Phase II trials.
Bavarian Nordic has supplied several governments with smallpox
vaccines and, with its increased production capacity, is able to
supply the growing demand, particularly for safe smallpox vaccines.
With a global manufacturing capacity consisting of its new
state-of-the-art production facility in Denmark (minimum capacity of
40 million doses per year that can be expanded to 180 million doses
per year), and an ongoing partnership with the German vaccine
producer, Impfstoffwerk Dessau-Tornau (IDT), Bavarian Nordic has
ensured supply of its current and future vaccines.
http://www.bavarian-nordic.com
Genmab A/S, Toldbodgade 33, 1253 Copenhagen, Denmark
Genmab A/S is an international biotechnology company that is
developing fully human antibodies to treat life-threatening and
debilitating diseases. The company uses the most advanced technology
available to develop antibodies in an effort to make products designed
to help patients who are suffering from diseases for which treatment
does not work, or does not exist. Genmab has developed a broad
pipeline of 38 potential antibody products in a variety of disease
areas, including 6 in clinical development and 18 in pre-clinical
development.
The internal pre-clinical development team selects the best
antibody candidates and the clinical development team moves these
candidates through clinical studies as rapidly and efficiently as
possible. In addition, Genmab in-licenses potential targets from other
biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to further expand its
product pipeline. Genmab chooses to develop some of its products
in-house through late-stage development, while out-licensing some
other products to other companies. This strategy serves both to
balance risk and facilitate the pursuit of further development
opportunities. The combination of streamlined development teams,
cutting-edge technology, international clinical and regulatory
expertise, diversified product pipeline and solid financial and
managerial foundation has given Genmab a tremendous edge over its
competitors and has helped establish the company as a leader in the
biotechnology industry.
http://www.genmab.com
Renovo Group Plc., Grafton Street 48, M13 9XX Manchester, United
Kingdom
Renovo is a biopharmaceutical product company and is the world
leader in scar prevention and reduction research and the development
of drugs to prevent and reduce scarring. The Company has a highly
skilled management team with over 30 years of research experience in
the field of scarring and significant pharmaceutical industry
expertise. Scarring can result from acute injury in, or surgery to,
the skin, blood vessels, eyes, nerves, internal organs, tendons and
ligaments. These are high value markets of significant unmet medical
need.
Renovo has a portfolio of drugs which exploit different novel
mechanisms of action to prevent and reduce scarring at multiple body
sites and to accelerate healing. This deep pipeline includes one drug
that has recently initiated Phase III clinical development in December
2006; three drugs in Phase II clinical development; a further four
advanced pre-clinical candidates; and 15 other pre-clinical
candidates.
Renovo's research and development approach is to focus on the drug
development stage and to direct activities towards gaining early
indications of efficacy in humans. A deep understanding of the
mechanisms of scarring has enabled Renovo to select a range of
candidates and programmes based on different mechanisms of action
which, as they are relatively independent of one another, give
robustness to the Group's pipeline. Renovo's pipeline derives both
from in-house research and from external collaborations with selected
academic groups worldwide.
Renovo aims to be first to the market with a pharmaceutical drug
in the US and Europe to prevent and reduce scarring. Current demand is
inadequately met and there is no near term competition. According to
external research, the potential commercial market for prevention and
reduction of scarring in the skin is worth $4 billion per annum in the
US alone.
http://www.renovo.com
The jury:
-- Professor Dr. Peter J. W. Stadler, CEO, ARTEMIS
Pharmaceuticals GmbH, Cologne, Germany (Chairman)
-- Dr. Luca Benatti, founder and CEO, Newron Pharmaceuticals SPA,
Bresso, Italy
-- Professor Dr. Horst Domdey, Chairman of the Board at BioM,
Martinsried, Germany
-- Professor Dr. Oreste Ghisalba, Novartis Pharma AG, Basle,
Switzerland
-- Michel Greco, expert on vaccines and former president of
Aventis Pasteur SA, Paris, France
-- Dr. Karsten Henco, founder of Qiagen and Evotec, as well as
CEO of U3 Pharma AG, Martinsried, Munich, Germany
-- Professor. Dr. Karl Kuchler, Head of the Institute of Medical
Biochemistry, Vienna University, Austria
-- Dr. Philippe Pouletty, founder and CEO of Truffle Venture, as
well as President of France Biotech, Paris, France
-- Professor Dr. Rolf G. Werner, Managing Director
Biopharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Biberach,
Germany
-- Professor Dr. Roland Wolf, Director of Science CXR Biosciences
as well as head of the Biomedical Research Centre, University
of Dundee, United Kingdom
