One of the University of Aberdeen’s newest spin-out companies, B1 Medical, is celebrating winning a Scottish Enterprise Scottish Life Sciences Award at a ceremony held in Edinburgh last night (Thursday, February 8).
Aberdeen-based life sciences company, B1 Medical, picked up the Most Promising New Life Science Company in Scotland in the SE Life Science Awards 2007 for their eight revolutionary orthopaedic inventions which will aid sufferers of illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis.
B1 Medical, which was founded in July 2006 with a £1.3m investment from Sigma Capital, and Scottish Enterprise CIF, is a spin-out company from the University of Aberdeen, the Robert Gordon University, and NHS Grampian.
From inception just six months ago, B1 Medical has been developing eight new products, two of which they hope to have on the market by the end of 2007 and all eight which they hope to have on the market within three years.
The company is involved with the development of orthopaedic products such as implants, trauma devices and diagnostic instrumentation. B1 Medical's inventions could make a real difference in the lives of those who, for a number of reasons, require small joint replacements. For example, the replacement of a small joint in a finger or toe, as treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, can dramatically enhance a sufferer's quality of life and reduce pain.
James Culy, founding member of B1 Medical, said: "We are delighted to win this award for the most promising new life sciences company in Scotland. It makes what we do even more worthwhile and winning the award shows universities and the NHS can work in partnership to deliver significant benefit to patients."
Backed by Scottish Enterprise, the annual Life Sciences Awards recognise groundbreaking developments in healthcare, nutrition, medical devices and disease prevention within Scotland's life sciences community.
The annual awards recognise the many achievements for both companies and individuals working in this complex field.
Professor Stephen Logan, Senior Vice-Principal, University of Aberdeen, also attended last night's ceremony and was delighted at Aberdeen's success. He said: "The University of Aberdeen is recognised for its high quality research and is continuing to demonstrate the translation of such research into new spin-out companies.
"B1 Medical represents an exciting and unique model of commercialisation where the institutions have recognised the value of working together to bundle intellectual property to create this new spin-out.
"The University of Aberdeen has an extremely close working relationship with NHS Grampian and the Robert Gordon University which facilitated B1 Medical and I am delighted to see the work being undertaken in the company being recognised by this prestigious award."
Dr Liz Rattray, Deputy Director, Research & Innovation, University of Aberdeen, added: "We are particularly pleased with the award to B1 Medical in true recognition of being the most promising new life sciences company in Scotland.
"B1 Medical offers enormous potential for us to contribute in a major way to helping safely introduce new technological developments in the field of medical devices for orthopaedics emerging from the Institutions.
"Translational research is an area of particular strength for the University of Aberdeen due to our wide range of internationally recognised health research. We look forward to continuing to use our excellent resources in clinical medicine and scientific research to play a major role in this new partnership."
The gala awards dinner, hosted by Scottish Enterprise and sponsored by Dundas & Wilson and Highlands & Islands Enterprise, took place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre in front of 700 guests who are key players in the life sciences community from across the UK and abroad.