Two UCL Spinout Companies Clinch Prestigious King’s Award

Pharmaceutical company Nanomerics was recognised for its innovation in developing medical technologies while breast cancer treatment firm Endomag was honoured in the international trade category.

The awards, previously known as The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, were renamed last year to reflect the King’s desire to continue recognising outstanding UK businesses.

There are four categories: innovation; international trade; sustainable development and promoting opportunity through social mobility. Nanomerics won in the innovation category.

Nanomerics’ award recognises the commercial and scientific excellence associated with the firm and its Molecular Envelope Technology (MET), the platform technology underpinning Nanomerics’ business. Nanomerics’ MET was developed at the UCL School of Pharmacy.

Chief Executive Officer and UCL Professor Andreas Schätzlein said winning the award was a “real honour”, adding: “This award recognises the efforts we are making to ensure that drug development has a higher likelihood of success. On behalf of the entire company, we express our thanks to the awarding committee.”

Professor Ijeoma Uchegbu, Chair in Pharmaceutical Nanoscience at UCL School of Pharmacy, said: “We are honoured to have won the King’s Award for Enterprise 2024.  We are especially pleased to have won the award in the innovation category. This award recognises the dedication of our excellent staff.  Our staff has always gone above and beyond in service to Nanomerics.”

An Endomag spokesperson said: “We’re honoured to have been awarded The King’s Awards for Enterprise in the International Trade category.

“The award judges commended Endomag for impressive international growth over recent years.

“We’d like to thank all of you that continue to support us on our mission to make cancer care accessible to all.”

Endomag is a UCL spinout supported by UCL Business (UCLB), UCL’s commercialisation company. Endomag was founded in 2007 with a mission to develop a magnetics-based sensing solution which would make breast cancer staging procedures available on a global basis. Its products are now routinely used by more than 1,000 hospitals in more than 45 countries. Over 450,000 women have now accessed more precise and less invasive breast cancer treatment.

In 2017, north London-based Nanomerics was awarded first prize in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Emerging Technologies Competition (Health) at a glittering award ceremony at Manchester’s Midland Hotel.