Norwich Research Park Innovation Hothouse winners announced
iBoxit, KNEE3D and PfBIO have been named winners at a competition showcasing innovative business ideas at Norwich Research Park.
In collaboration with the University of East Anglia (UEA) and The Royal Society, the Innovation Hothouse competition saw eight finalists pitch their innovative ideas to a panel of expert judges.
All were either spin-out or start-up companies founded by researchers, scientists, entrepreneurs or students based on the park campus.
The winners were announced at an event at the end of November and received cash prizes, as well as either a year’s virtual tenancy or a marketing support package – plus specialist mentoring from market experts.
It was the latest in a series of Enterprise events run by Anglia Innovation Partnership, the campus management organisation at Norwich Research Park.
iBoxit
The overall winner was iBoxit, a collaboration with UEA, which has developed a sustainable packaging solution for the UK seafood industry that increases the shelf life of fish during transportation.
The product combines antimicrobial functions to preserve freshness and maximise nutritional value. It is constructed of recyclable materials and removes Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) from the supply chain.
John Farley, CEO at iBoxit, said: “Firstly, I want to say what a fantastic event it was. Being one of eight companies pitching some great ideas to the panel of judges was a great experience in itself. But to come out as the overall winner is such an honour.
“We have been based at Norwich Research Park for a while now and really appreciate the world-class facilities, the talent that is here and the profile you gain. Winning this competition adds more credibility to our business as we look to get our products to market.”
KNEE3D
Runner-up KNEE3D, a start-up borne from research at UEA and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH), aims to offer a novel, one-stop AI-assisted 3-D imaging analysis suite for knee osteoarthritis.
It will help implement effective preventative strategies as early as possible to expedite new therapeutics in drug development in clinical trials.
KNEE3D director Tom Turmezei said: “I am really pleased to have been chosen by the judges as one of the winners of the 2024 Hothouse competition. The KNEE3D team believe that the prize of a virtual tenancy at Norwich Research Park will give us a great platform to establish ourselves as a company and open up access to facilities as we become part of the growing business community.
“Participating in the competition really helped us focus on honing our pitching skills for the next steps in our journey, which will be invaluable when we start looking for investment and will certainly raise our profile in the right circles.”
PfBIO
A spin-out from the John Innes Centre, runner-up PfBIO has developed a bacteria-based solution to promote plant health and protect crops from major agricultural diseases.
Its platform, BioSIFT, enables quick identification of the best beneficial bacteria to be applied to specific crops.
Dr Rosaria Campilongo, CEO at PfBIO, said: “I am delighted that PfBIO has been chosen by the judges as one of the winners. This recognition adds significant credibility to our vision and strengthens our standing with potential investors and collaborators.
“It’s an exciting milestone as we move forward with the next stage of our company’s growth and development.”
Finalists
The other five finalists were also commended for their innovative business models.
Vida Vodka, a start-up from UEA, is using waste bread that would have otherwise ended up in landfill to create an environmentally-friendly sustainable vodka.
PathoProst™ Detect, a start-up from UEA, has developed a urine test to help detect aggressive prostate cancer in men.
Bioscopic, a spin-out from the Quadram Institute, is looking to develop compounds based on beneficial bacteria found in infants that will help adults combat diseases and conditions including cancer.
BirthView, a spin-out from UEA, has developed a virtual reality-based simulator that can model the ‘cardinal movements’ of human childbirth. This will enable clinicians to evaluate labour before the actual event and make adequate decisions to minimise complications for mother and baby.
Healthium™, a start-up from NNUH, has developed a digital platform with the aim of improving the treatment effectiveness of urinary tract infections (UTIs).
Sheng Qi, professor of Pharmaceutical Material Science and Technology at the School of Chemistry, Pharmacy and Pharmacology and associate dean of Innovation at UEA, said: “The standard of pitches and the sheer quality of the innovation on display from the eight finalists was highly impressive. Choosing the winners proved to be an exceptionally challenging task for the judges, as every finalist was deserving of recognition.
Prof Qi, who was also chair of the judging panel, added: “Ultimately, we awarded the top three places to iBoxit, KNEE3D and PfBIO because they stood out for the clear strategies they had to bring their products to market and the significant potential of their solutions to address the critical issues they aim to resolve.”
TraitSeq
Last year’s winners, TraitSeq, have continued to progress well while being based at Norwich Research Park on the virtual tenancy they won.
TraitSeq CEO Joshua Colmer said: “Winning the Hothouse competition really helped our development as a company. The training we received throughout the competition process significantly improved our pitching skills, which was instrumental in securing Innovate UK funding for our pre-seed round.
“Exposure at – and after – the event connected us with value-adding angel investors, including one who participated in our pre-seed funding round in April 2024.”
TraitSeq is now generating revenue by delivering commercial projects to agri-tech companies while simultaneously developing its own proprietary technology platform. It has expanded both its technical and commercial teams to accelerate growth, supported by commercial revenue, Innovate UK funding and investment.
Joshua continued: “We have continued to grow our network of industry collaborators and customers, which has significantly enhanced our understanding of industry challenges and how our technology can provide solutions. This has also helped us identify high-priority sectors and challenges.
“Looking ahead to 2025, we are considering a funding round in Q2 to accelerate the development of our technology platform and expand our team to increase our capacity for delivering and learning from commercial projects.”
Roz Bird, CEO at Anglia Innovation Partnership, said: “It’s great to see that last year’s Hothouse competition winners, TraitSeq, have made significant progress, supported by their year’s free virtual tenancy and the opportunities to raise their profile, establish new contacts and gain access to funding.
“There is huge potential for brilliant business ideas to emerge from the community we have here at Norwich Research Park and it’s events like this that showcase the very real opportunities to investors.
“Since the first Enterprise Tuesday event in November 2022, we have moved up several levels in terms of performance and ability to deliver,” Roz added. “We continue to attract and retain high-growth businesses and we have nurtured and grown our entrepreneur community.
“With our real estate investment partnership with Vengrove and funding from Greensphere Capital available for some of our start-up and spin-out companies, the future is looking very positive for the Norwich Research Park campus.
“This investment, combined with the growing sense of community, access to specialist facilities and ease of collaboration, will fast-track ideas and maximise the impact of publicly-funded research.”
