Innovative Business of the Year 2012

Founders: Dr Julie Barnes, Chris Hodkinson, Professor Ian Jacobs Year Started: 2011 Website: www.abcodia.com

Abcodia is the world leader in biomarker validation and discovery service operating in the rapidly growing sector focused on the search for cancer biomarkers to diagnose cancer earlier.

Working alongside University College London, the company has exclusive access to the largest blood serum bio-bank of its kind in the world.

Licensing out access to the biobank to some of the world’s largest diagnostic companies, while planning to create its own intellectual property, Abcodia has created an innovative commercial opportunity from intelligent and potentially life changing research.

This innovative start-up was also named Angel or VC-backed Business of the Year and the overall Natwest Startups Business of the Year, while CEO Dr Julie Barnes took home the award for Start-up Business Woman of the Year.

Judges’ comments:

The judges felt that Abcodia shows all the signs of being a genuine game changer. Its potential for making money, while also operating in the hugely important area of early cancer detection, is phenomenal. Judges were impressed with the exclusive access Abcodia has to a blood ‘bio bank’ that was built over a 10-year period for £30m. The combination of a licensing model, whereby the world’s largest healthcare companies would pay for access to the bio bank, alongside the development of its own intellectual property, could lead to new diagnostic products that have a material impact on combatting cancer globally.