Plasticell receives Queens Award

Plasticell has been presented with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation in recognition of its contribution to regenerative medicine, cell and gene therapy and other areas of biomedical research. Plasticell’s technology, CombiCult®, performs miniaturised screening of large numbers of variables in combination to determine optimal culture conditions for cells grown in the laboratory.

Dennis Saw, Plasticell’s Chief Executive, commented, “We are immensely proud to receive the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation in the fields of medicine and bioscience. It is a tribute to the longstanding effort and dedication that have gone into the continued development and promotion of this innovative technology”

Founded in 2002, the company’s lead internal programme optimises manufacturing of umbilical cord blood stem cells, which can be used to treat up to 70 different indications including many cancers. As well as forming alliances with industry-leading partners to discover and develop further products, Plasticell also spun out sister biotechnology venture, Progenitor Therapeutics, focused on the discovery of small molecule drugs that regenerate specific tissues of the body in response to disease or ageing.

Plasticell founder and executive chairman Dr Yen Choo commented, “Our company has developed one of the key technology platforms in the life sciences, made significant progress in developing ground-breaking therapies for serious diseases, enabled multiple partners to advance diverse products towards the market and bolstered the UK biotech industry by spinning out a further biotech venture. This award recognises the exceptionally hard work of our scientists who have made all this possible, alongside the vision of our investors who have supported the company over the past decade. We look forward to continued innovation and further product development as Plasticell progresses its exciting therapeutic programmes.”

Plasticell and Progenitor Therapeutics are co-located at the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, the UK’s first open innovation campus located on the site of GlaxoSmithKline’s Medicines Research Centre.