2013.09.17europabioerydel

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Find out who the top 5 biotech SMEs in Europe are

Press release17 September, 2013

The top five candidates to compete in this years EuropaBio Most Innovative EU Biotech

SME Award have been selected. Entering its 4th

year, the award has grown rapidly each year

to reach a wider audience across members states, with applications coming from all three

sectors of biotechnology - healthcare, industrial and agricultural, all providing solutions to

major societal unmet needs.

This year, the award will be presented during the first everEuropean Biotechnology Week,

at an event in Brussels which will discuss Europes role in the booming biotech sector, in

comparison with global trends. Key speakers will include Jean-Paul Kress, CEO of Sanofi

Pasteur MSD; US venture capitalist, G. Steven Burrill, founder and CEO of Burrill & Company;

Jim Philp, Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry at the OECD and MEPs Kay

Swinburne and Philippe de Backer.

The top five candidates are:EryDel SpA,an Italian innovative drug delivery company,

specialised in the development of drugs and diagnostics delivered through human red blood

cells, via a proprietary medical device with the objective of potentially limiting toxicity and

reducing the risk of side effects against encapsulated medicine.E-Therapeutics,a UK

biotech SME, has pioneered network pharmacology, a new approach to drug discovery

based on advances in network science and chemical biology, with which it seeks novel

treatments for complex diseases, principally cancer and disorders of the nervous system.
http://www.biotechweek.org/http://www.biotechweek.org/http://www.biotechweek.org/http://www.erydel.com/http://www.erydel.com/http://www.erydel.com/http://www.etherapeutics.co.uk/http://www.etherapeutics.co.uk/http://www.etherapeutics.co.uk/http://www.etherapeutics.co.uk/http://www.gensight-biologics.com/http://www.biotechweek.org/http://www.gensight-biologics.com/http://www.etherapeutics.co.uk/http://www.erydel.com/http://www.biotechweek.org/


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Gensight biologicsfrom France are dedicated to the development of gene therapy based

treatments for degenerative retinal diseases. They develop innovative approaches to

prevent retinal degeneration from occurring in the first instance, and to restore vision in

patients suffering from very low vision or full blindness. Nanobiotix, also hailing from

France, aims to enhance the efficacy of radiotherapy treatment in meeting the needs of

cancer patients by developing innovative technology that uses nanoparticles called

nanoXray, designed to directly enter tumour cells through either direct injection,

intravenous injection, or topical application. Finally UK basedPsiOxus Therapeuticsis

developing a new approach to cancer therapy by using the processes of directed evolution

to develop a virus that is a potent killer of cancer cells but with minimal effects on normal

healthy cells.

All candidates will receive two years free membership of EuropaBio, with the over-all

winner also receiving 10,000.

Commenting on this years award, Nathalie Moll, Secretary General of EuropaBio stated:

"For the 4th year in a row, we have received exceptional applications for our Most

Innovative Biotech SME Award. It has been incredibly hard for the judging committee

[Note:1] to select the top 5 companies in Europe that are excelling in their innovative

approaches to providing important solutions for meeting current unmet societal needs.

Here in Europe we are well aware of the lifeblood that innovative SMEs provide to the

economy and we hope that the EuropaBio SME Award can contribute to raising the profile

of these SMEs and the essential research and innovation that they are conducting. It is

worth noting however, that once again there was a low number of industrial and agriculture

biotech SME applications, highlighting the need for better support from policy makers aswell as workable legislation in these fields of biotechnology. Without these conditions,

Europe risks being the world's largest research hub but curbing the outcome of that great

research and of the innovative companies who make it happen.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Rosalind Travers,

Manager, Communications & SME Platform

Ph: +32 (0) 478 680 301

E: [email protected]

Notes to editor:

1The judging committee consisted of: G. Steven Burrill, Founder and CEO of Burrill and Company;

Tom Saylor, CEO of Arecor Ltd; Belgian MEP Philippe de Backer; Welsh MEP Kay Swinburne; and

Nathalie Moll, Secretary General of EuropaBio

For more information on the European Biotechnology week, please click here

About EuropaBio

EuropaBio is the European Association for Bioindustries, bringing together bioscience companies from all fields

of research and development, testing, manufacturing and distribution of biotechnology products. Its

corporate, associate and national association members are involved in research, development, testing,
http://www.gensight-biologics.com/http://www.gensight-biologics.com/http://www.nanobiotix.com/http://www.nanobiotix.com/http://www.psioxus.com/http://www.psioxus.com/http://www.psioxus.com/mailto:[email protected]://www.biotechweek.org/http://www.biotechweek.org/http://www.biotechweek.org/http://www.biotechweek.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.psioxus.com/http://www.nanobiotix.com/http://www.gensight-biologics.com/


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manufacturing and commercialisation of biotechnology products and processes, and have a wide range of

activities: human and animal health care, diagnostics, bio-informatics, chemicals, crop protection, agriculture,

food and environmental products and services.

About the SME PlatformEuropaBios SME Platform focuses its activities on highlighting challenges and financial constraints that biotech

SMEs face, and developing policy recommendations to optimise EU and member state funding instruments for

biotech SMEs. The SME Platform brings together CEOs, of SMEs, National Biotech Associations, Venture

Capitalists and private banks, European financial institutions, representatives from the EC, and other

interested stakeholders.

2013.09.17europabioerydel

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