Sigmoid wins Irish Times Innovation Awards

26 March 2010

The inaugural Irish Times Innovation of the Year award, which showcases innovation from across the private and public sectors, went to Sigmoid Pharma, based in the Invent Centre at DCU. Sigmoid Pharma won the award for its development of two new drug technologies, both of which can enhance drug solubility and permeability while also permitting targeted delivery to the site in the body where the drug is required. The result is a convenient, safe and effective product that can convert vaccines and injections to an oral pill format. Established in 2003 and based in the Invent Centre at DCU, Sigmoid Pharma also won the Application of R&D category.

Speaking at the awards ceremony at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Kilmainham, Dublin, on Wednesday night, the Minister for Science, Technology, Innovation and Natural Resources, Conor Lenihan, said: “The range of innovations showcased here, from across the private and public sectors, is a very positive indicator of how the knowledge, skills and creativity of our people is being translated into valuable processes, products and services.”

The importance of nurturing and promoting innovative start-ups – and not just from the academic sector – was highlighted by keynote speaker Dr Chris Horn, co-founder of Iona Technologies and a member of the Government’s Innovation Taskforce. “I believe that while competitiveness is important, it’s not enough. We can’t rely on the US or British economy to lift the Irish economy,” he said. “We don’t have a monopoly on a low tax rate or on a skilled English-speaking population. We can’t simply roll the clock back to where we were at the start of the decade. We have to foster and create a strong innovative society and economy.