Plasticell Receives Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation 2016

Plasticell, a biotechnology company using stem cell culture and drug discovery platforms to produce regenerative small-molecule drugs, was awarded the 2016 Queen’s Award for Enterprise and Innovation, according to an April 21, 2016 press announcement.

The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the UK’s most prestigious enterprise awards, according to the Department for Business Innovation & Skills. The awards are given for outstanding achievement in three categories: innovation, international trade, and sustainable development.

Plasticell was recognized in the Innovation category for its contribution to the advancement of regenerative medicine, cell and gene therapy, as well as other areas of biomedical research, the company said in a press announcement. Yen Choo, PhD, founder and executive chairman of Plasticell, will accept the award at Buckingham Palace on July 14, 2016.

“This award recognizes 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,” Choo said in a press announcement. “We look forward to continued innovation and further product development as Plasticell progresses its exciting therapeutic programs.”

Plasticell was founded in 2002, and develops high-throughput methods for commercialization of stem cell research and regenerative medicines. The company is currently focused on developing cell therapies, and optimizing manufacture of umbilical cord blood stem cells. In 2010 Plasticell spun out a sister biotechnology, Progenitor Therapeutics, that is focused on the discovery of small-molecule drugs that regenerate specific tissues on the body in response to disease or aging. Plasticell and Progenitor Therapeutics are located at the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, on the site of GlaxoSmithKline’s Medicines Research Centre.

Source: Plasticell