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The awards from Knowledge Transfer Ireland recognise a range of collaborative projects between researchers and industry.
Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI), the Irish body that connects businesses to publicly funded research opportunities, has revealed nine finalists for this year’s KTI Impact Awards.
The awards recognise knowledge transfer and commercialisation activities in their early stages, with the potential to make an impact from Irish research.
Across three different categories – commercialisation, industry engagement and future forward – nine entries have been shortlisted for the KTI Impact Awards 2022.
The winners will be revealed at an in-person ceremony on 1 December. The ceremony will also include a People’s Choice Impact Award, which will be awarded to one of the finalists based on votes from audience members.
Last year’s winners included research-based companies and spin-outs Locate Bio, Rockley Photonics and Inclusio.
“There are some incredible stand out examples of collaboration between industry and publicly funded research on this year’s Impact Awards shortlist,” said Imelda Lambkin, manager for disruptive technologies, innovation and knowledge transfer at Enterprise Ireland.
“Each one is providing solutions to real challenges which industry and society are facing each day, and they are solutions that are backed up by lasting partnerships, some many years in the making.”
Commercialisation
The commercialisation award, which focuses on spin-out companies from Irish universities and research institutes, has three shortlisted entries for this year: SilverCloud Health, Adiso Therapeutics and Class Medical.
Trinity College Dublin (TCD) spin-out SilverCloud is a digital mental health platform founded in 2012. The company raised $16m in Series B funding in April 2020 and was acquired by US telehealth company Amwell a year later.
Adiso, a spin-out of University College Cork, develops therapies for patients with chronic and progressive inflammatory diseases. Previously known as Artugen Therapeutics, the start-up was founded in 2016.
Meanwhile, Class Medical spun out of the University of Limerick (UL) in 2014 and develops systems to prevent complications from urethral trauma. Recognised as an Enterprise Ireland high potential start-up, Class has raised $2.5m in venture funding to date.
Industry engagement
This category recognises collaborations between publicly funded research-performing organisations and companies.
The first shortlisted entry is Teagasc with Independent Milk Laboratories, FBA Laboratories and Kerry Group. Over the last two years, this group has worked together to build testing that aims to safeguard milk products used in dairy-based infant formula and reduce waste in the production process.
Kerry Group also features in a second entry for its partnership with TCD, which has led to new applications and markets for one of the group’s proprietary ingredients, Wellmune. It is a yeast beta glucan used in food items and supplements that boosts the immune system.
The third finalist for is Carbery Food Ingredients, which has been working with UL on a project to develop a new whey protein called Optipep 4Power. Targeted at the high-performance sport market, the product launched in the market in 2021.
Future forward
The final category for the Impact Awards focuses on activities that may still be in the early stages with a strong potential for future impact.
TCD is shortlisted for its work with spin-out ProVerum. This medical device company aims to assist patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia, a common bladder condition in men over 50.
ProVerum raised €30m in a Series A funding round in January to help it pursue regulatory approval for its medical products in Europe and the US.
UCD spin-out PlasmaBound is the next finalist in this category, recognised for its sustainability-focused technology.
The start-up, which recently secured more than €2m in funding, specialises in controlled polymer ablation tech that could help speed up the manufacture of renewable lightweight materials with increased reliability. These materials could be used in everything from vehicles and devices to physical structures, reducing carbon output and waste.
The last finalist is University of Galway spin-out Revelium, which is developing novel gel-based treatments for painful joint disorders. Led by Dr Alison Liddy, the start-up has developed the first application of its kind to treat knee osteoarthritis for which there is currently no adequate treatment.
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