Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Highlight of the annual Genomics Momentum, held on 11 November 2008 in Rotterdam, was the granting of the first NGI Valorisation Award with a value of € 1 million.
Recipients were five NGI Genomics Centres from Leiden, namely:
Centre for Medical Systems Biology
Celiac Disease Consortium
Netherlands Metabolomics Centre
Netherlands Consortium for Healthy Ageing
Forensic Genomics Consortium Netherlands
The NGI Valorisation Award is a prize with which the Netherlands Genomics Initiative rewards excellent performance in the field of valorisation. Valorisation, entailing the practical utilisation of research results, comes in many forms. Which is why an annual theme is attached to the Award. The theme for this first year was "Excellence in structuring and managing technology transfer activities". The Leiden NGI Genomics Centres took a structural approach to valorisation by pursuing close cooperation and making optimal use of LURIS, the Technology Transfer Office of Leiden University. According to the jury, the Leiden approach embodies a well-oiled machine that has already yielded impressive results, and serves as an example for how scientific research can be translated into ‘benefits for society’. Prof.Dr Gertjan van Ommen, director of the Centre for Medical Systems Biology, took receipt of the prize on behalf of the five centres.
FluxTrax wins NGI Venture Challenge 2008
Also announced during Genomics Momentum was the winner of the NGI Venture Challenge 2008, an intensive process in which teams of researchers develop their crude idea for a start-up into a sound business plan. The winner was chosen on the basis of a pitch competition and received € 5,000 towards starting up the financing process. Winner FluxTrax develops software with which, using a single tissue sample, it is possible to determine the local metabolism of living cells. Practical applications include for example determining the extent of damage after a heart attack. This technology launched by FluxTrax provides pharmaceutical companies with a better and faster means of selecting new candidate medicines.
FluxTrax is a spin-off in establishment of the Netherlands Bioinformatics Centre.