Tuesday 12 February 2008

SA BIOSCIENCE HIGH ACHIEVERS HONOURED

Two members of the local bioscience community were honoured at an Awards ceremony last night for their contributions to the South Australian bioscience industry.

The 2008 Bioscience Achievement Awards are:

• The BioSA Industry Leader Award, which recognises individuals who have made a significant impact to the growth and development of their company or organisation and/or to the South Australian bioscience industry.

The 2008 Industry Leader Award has been awarded to Mr Bob Finder, former CEO of GroPep Ltd.  Following a long and successful career contributing to the success of major South Australian biotechnology companies, Bob continues his involvement with the sector serving as a board member and advisor to our early stage, high growth companies and serves as Chairman of Labtech Systems Ltd and local biotech start-up Reproductive Health Sciences Pty Ltd.

The 2008 Young Achiever Award has been awarded to Mr Jason Valentine, General Manager of the Centre for Pharmaceutical Research (CPR), University of South Australia.  Jason has been instrumental in building a business unit within the University, achieving strong sales performance and positioning it as a potential stand-alone business.

Mr Dennis Mutton, Chairman of the Bio Innovation SA Board said that both winners greatly deserved their awards.

 “Bob and Jason have been dedicated to the development of their organisations and the sector as a whole.  I am very pleased that we have been able to recognise such outstanding commitment,” said Mr Mutton.

Mr Mutton announced the 2008 winners at Bio Innovation SA’s Networking Forum at the Stamford Grand Hotel last night, presenting each with a sculpture designed by Christine Maxwell of See Design and hand-crafted by the Jam Factory.

The Bio Innovation SA Bioscience Achievement Awards initiative arose from recommendations made by Dr Maire Smith during her term as a South Australian Thinker in Residence. 

The winners of the inaugural Awards in 2007 were Dr Meera Verma, Director, Site Operations at Hospira Adelaide Pty Ltd and Dr Chris Goddard, former chief operating officer of Novozymes GroPep Ltd.

Professional photographs from the Awards ceremony are available on request

Further Information:     Dr Jurgen Michaelis, CEO - Ph:  08 8217 6447, Mob: 0402 892 399

What is Bio Innovation SA?

Bio Innovation SA was established by the South Australian Government to foster the growth of the local bioscience industry. Bio Innovation SA provides grants to companies and public research organisations to promote company development and enable commercialisation of technologies. The organisation also provides mentoring, advice on business and product development, financial and marketing advice and infrastructure development support for the local bioscience industry. For more information visit www.bioinnovationsa.com.au        

About the Winners

Mr Bob Finder

Since 1995, Mr Finder has made an outstanding contribution to the local bioscience industry, initially working for FH Faulding in operations and senior management roles.  Bob was appointed CEO and Managing Director of GroPep Ltd in 2002 and oversaw the selling of the business to Danish biotechnology company Novozymes in December 2006.  He stayed on as the CEO of Novozymes GroPep Ltd and was instrumental in expanding the company’s Adelaide operations and internationalising the business through the exchange of managers between the company’s UK, Denmark and Adelaide offices.

Bob resigned from the position in 2007 and became Chairman of the Board for Labtech Systems Ltd, an early stage local company with technology originating in the IMVS.  Labtech is now listed on the Australian Stock Exchange with considerable cash revenues and has a major R&D collaboration with international pharmaceutical company, bioMérieux.  Bob is also the Chairman of the Board of Reproductive Health Sciences Pty Ltd, a SA-bred medical diagnostic company.

Mr Jason Valentine

Mr Valentine has been instrumental in the CPR’s transition from a University-based research group to an accredited contract research provider servicing the international biotechnology industry.  He has worked at FH Faulding, CMAX and more recently as Business Manager of the CPR before being appointed to the General Manager role. Mr Valentine’s achievements include significantly increasing the CPR’s revenue, achieving National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) accreditation for the organisation and securing $1m in Federal Government funding under the Innovation and Investment Fund for South Australia (IIFSA) scheme. 

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