Award Criteria & Judges


Entries to the 2023 OBN Awards are now closed.


Click a category below to review criteria:


  1. Best Startup Biotech Company, Kindly sponsored by Milton Park (Incorporated after 1 June 2021)
  2. Best Emerging Biotech Company, Kindly Sponsored by Thermo Fisher Scientific (Incorporated 1 Jan 2018 - 1 June 2021)
  3. Best Established Biotech Company, Kindly Sponsored by Precision Biosearch (Incorporated before 1 Jan 2018)
  4. Best Early Stage Medtech Company, Kindly Sponsored by Penningtons Manches Cooper (Incorporated after 1 June 2018)
  5. Best Established Medtech Company (Incorporated before 1 June 2018)
  6. Most Transformative HealthTec Company of the Year
  7. Most Impactful CRO of the Year
  8. Young Life Sciences Entrepreneur of the Year, Kindly Sponsored by Oxford Technology Park
  9. Most Impactful Industry Collaboration of the Year
  10. BioSeed One-to-Watch Award Kindly Sponsored by Precision For Medicine
  11. Best Industry Support Partner of the Year
  12. Special Recognition Award 2023

OBN Award Judges 2023


With thanks to the industry leaders contributing to the final judging panel this year:


Nick Pumphrey, CSO, Etcembly

Kat Arney, Founder & CCO, First Create the Media

Louise Sutton, Industry Director, Biotech, Fisher Scientific

Oliver Pumfrey, Managing Director, FTI

John Chaddock, VP Head of REED Operations and Site Head, Ipsen

Prashant Shah, Co-Founder, o2h

Stuart Rose, CEO, OBN

Alex Batchelor, Co-Founder and CEO, OxDX

Wendy Tindsley, Innovation Director, Oxford Innovation

Emma Palmer-Foster, Strategic Communications Consultant, EJ Palmer Consulting

Lisa Page, Partner, Penningtons Manches Cooper

Chris Shelley, Partner, Penningtons Manches Cooper

Malcolm Silander, Co-Founder, Precision BioSearch

Frances Murphy, Executive Director, Precision for Medicine

Laura Holland, Director of Strategic Marketing, Rosalind Franklin Institute

Peter Hamley, CSO, Samsara Therapeutics

Catherine Fletcher, Principal, Science Creates

Paul Holmes, Managing Director, Syneos Health

Colin McCall, Partner, Taylor Wessing

Mark Beresford, Global Enterprise Lead, ThermoFisher Scientific

Kirsty Dolphin, Partner, Venner Shipley

Lorna Cuddon, Managing Director, Zyme

Yusuf Ali, Wellbeing, Health & Protection Technical Adviser, Partners&

Emma Tinsley, Chief Executive Officer, Weatherden

Neil Roberts, Chief Executive Officer, SEHTA 

Claire Shingler, Business Manager, BioEscalator