The competition run by the North West Biotech Initiative – a student-led organisation – was hosted at The University of Manchester with sponsorship from the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Catalyst (IBIC), a collaboration that aims to supercharge industrial biotechnology in the north-west of England. 

The judging saw 10 early-stage startups pitch their ideas to a panel with experts from entrepreneurship and biotechnology.

“As judges, we were blown away by the quality of the finalists and as a result, we awarded four prizes, rather than our initial plan of three,” said lead judge Aline Miller, Professor of Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Manchester. “The quality and breadth of the entries show the huge potential to grow a sustainable bioeconomy, including the food, fuel, chemical, material and pharmaceutical sectors here in the UK. The north-west is the ideal place to start for its access to knowledge, skills, facilities, and connections to business and investment.”

The first-place prize was awarded to female reproductive health startup Gynomics, led by Dora Marčec and Isaac Tam. They received a package that included accelerator mentorship, access to laboratory space and £15k funding. They are developing an AI-powered tool to analyse DNA to predict pregnancy complications early and avoid pre-term labour.

Dora Marčec said: “We’re very excited to win Build a Biotech – and particularly to join the accelerator and win the IBIC funding so we can build Gynomics to the next level.”

The judges awarded prizes to a further three early-stage businesses:

• Parsa Pirhady won second prize for OncoFlow, which aims to develop a fast and affordable test that can help doctors identify cancer patients who could benefit from immunotherapy and vaccines.
• Maribal Montufar was named joint third for Simplex Molecular, an affordable DNA platform that delivers lab-quality results in under 30 minutes for healthcare, agriculture and environmental monitoring.
• Adrián Pérez Barreto and Maria Andrea Castillo Bohorquez also shared third for Revine, a graphene-based patch for the treatment of diabetic limb ulcers using electrostimulation to promote tissue regeneration.

Other finalists presented startup ideas based on novel bacteria in industrial wastewater treatment; generative AI to accelerate the pace of pharmaceutical research, converting visuals to audio-tactile feedback for visually impaired people; and the use of engineered bacteria as a patient-friendly treatment for digestive ailments.

While IBIC provided the prize packages, the Build a Biotech competition was run by the North West Biotech Initiative (NWBI), an organisation for professional development and networking for undergraduate, master’s and PhD students in the biotech landscape.

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