Royal Recognition

On 6 May 2024, the King’s Awards for Enterprise 2024 winners were announced and included pharmaceutical company, Nanomerics, and several companies that provide services to the pharmaceutical industry. The awards (previously known as the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise) recognize outstanding achievements in enterprise across four categories: innovation; international trade; sustainable development; and promoting opportunity (through social mobility) (1).

Nanomerics, a spin-out from University College London, received the King’s Award for Enterprise in the category of Innovation. The company has been recognized for its active excipient platform for precision medicines, Molecular Envelope Technology (MET). MET works by encapsulating nano-scaled drug doses and allowing water-insoluble compounds to pass through mucosal barriers, which increases efficacy of the drug product and reduces side effects (2).

“It is a real honour to win the King’s Award for Enterprise 2024 in the Innovation category,” said Professor Andreas G. Schätzlein, CEO of Nanomerics, in a press release (2). “This award recognizes the efforts we are making to ensure that drug development has a higher likelihood of success.”

However, the majority of the winners from the pharma industry for 2024 have been recognized for their achievements in international trade. Gentronix, for example, which is a contract research organization that specializes in toxicology, received the award as a result of achieving triple-figure revenue growth thanks to its international expansion (3); and, Seda Pharmaceutical Development Services, which works with biotech companies to help design, develop, and market novel medicinal products, was recognized for its “outstanding short-term growth in overseas sales” (4).

Furthermore, several consulting groups were also recognized in this year’s awards for their successes in international trade. Among these groups were Uptake Strategies, which is a global healthcare consultancy for the pharma and biotech industry (5); and DLRC, which is global consultancy providing regulatory services to pharma and medtech companies of all sizes (6).

The full list of winners for 2024 can be found in a special supplement of The Gazette (7).

References

1. The London Gazette. The King’s Awards for Enterprise. TheGazette.co.uk (accessed 13 May 2024).
2. Nanomerics. Nanomerics Wins the United Kingdom King’s Award for Enterprise 2024. Press Release, 6 May 2024.
3. Tate, M. Genotronix Recognized with King’s Award After Record International Growth. Press Release, 7 May 2024.
4. Seda Pharmaceutical Development Services. Stockport Based, Seda Pharmaceutical Development Services Wins King’s Award for Enterprise 2024. Press Release, 6 May 2024.
5. King, C. Uptake Honoured in the King’s Awards for Enterprise 2024. Press Release, 6 May 2024.
6. DLRC. DLRC Achieves King’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade. Press Release, 6 May 2024.
7. The London Gazette. The King’s Awards for Enterprise. The Gazette, 2024, 64386, Supplement No. 1.

About the author

Felicity Thomas is the European/senior editor for Pharmaceutical Technology Group.

Article details

Pharmaceutical Technology Europe
Vol. 36, No. 4
April 2024
Page: 6

Citation

When referring to this article, please cite it as Thomas, F. Streamlining Variations. Pharmaceutical Technology Europe 2024 36 (4) 6.