Reflecting on the award, Professor Richter commented: "I’m absolutely delighted. It shines a spotlight on diagnostics as a necessary area for progress and innovation in the UK. I’m delighted as a woman to be seen to be advancing translational science, and I hope that will encourage more women into the field."
“And for my organisation, the Clinical Immunology Services, that’s recently moved into the new Birmingham Health Innovation Campus, I hope this shines a spotlight on the Birmingham ecosystem with how we support life sciences. We’re making tests that enable diagnoses to be closer to people and closer to communities. This doesn’t just improve patient care and improve clinical outcomes, but it’s cheaper for patients and environmentally, this is much better for patients too.”
Professor Gino Martini, Chief Executive Officer of PHTA, also received the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his distinguished 30+ year career in pharmacy, life sciences and the commercialisation of healthcare innovations.
Speaking about his award, Professor Martini said: “It’s a great honour. I'm privileged. It's actually the team I work with who did all the hard work, and I feel it's a great acknowledgement of their efforts, but also really excited for the region because this is really important stuff and it creates jobs, but also it makes people live longer and healthier.”
At PHTA, Professor Martini leads efforts to support life sciences SMEs and entrepreneurs to commercialise innovations for patient benefit. He added: “What we're trying to do is grow businesses and life sciences in the West Midlands. It's all about mindset; innovation is about mindset; innovation is about mindset. We want people in the West Midlands to believe they can be innovators; they can grow companies in healthcare. That's what we're trying to achieve.”
Dr Richard Fallon, CEO of the Technology Supply Chain (TSC), membership organisation, which runs the annual Innovation Awards, said: “Congratulations to Professor Gino Martini and Professor Alex Richter. You have made, and continue to make, a huge impact."
"We had more entries than ever before this year, and the competition for each category was stronger than it’s ever been. Each winner can be justifiably proud and can look forward to ongoing support from the 5,000-member TSC network as they chart their course to future success.”
The Innovation Awards celebrate individuals, organisations and businesses across the UK who are dedicated to driving innovation in their fields. More than 500 guests attended this year’s awards dinner following a year-long process of voting and judging.
