Oxford North proudly sponsors BioEscalator annual Pitch Battle

Oxford North was proud to sponsor the fifth annual BioEscalator Pitch Battle 2024, an exciting showcase of fierce competition and groundbreaking biotech innovations with seven categories designed to provide their resident biotech companies with a platform to practice their investor pitches and receive feedback from a distinguished panel of industry experts.

Ten companies competed for the top spot and £2,000 in prize money with the judges facing a formidable task in selecting the winners.

Joining the judging panel on behalf of Oxford North was Professor Dame Kay Davies, Thomas White Oxford, along with Gillian Tannahill, Senior Director, Scientific Innovation Immunology, Johnson & Johnson Innovation; Danuta Jeziorska, Biotech CEO, Serial Entrepreneur and Emma Palmer Foster, Director, Discovery Park Ventures, Life Sciences Consultant.

Each participating company delivered a five-minute non-confidential pitch, addressing essential elements such as unmet medical needs, proposed solutions, market analysis, timelines, team composition, and investment requirements.

The winners were:

- Best Speaker: Stephanie Lesage, Co-founder and CEO of Oxford Silk Phage Technologies, for exceptional public speaking skills, clear communication, and engaging pitch delivery.

- Best Scientific Explanation: Adam Cribbs, Co-Founder and CTO of Caeruleus Genomics, for his clarity, accuracy, and ability to make complex concepts understandable.

- Most Mentions of BioEscalator: Claudia Fraser, Research Scientist at Exogene and Ron Wolchinsky, Associate Director, R&D at Alethiomics, for most effectively integrating mentions of the BioEscalator into their pitches.

- Most Impactful Visuals and Small but Mighty: Bohao Yao, Director—Data Science of SiGenex, for clear, engaging, visually appealing slides and for effectively communicating the company's focus and project plan despite its smaller size.

- Most Likely Future Unicorn: Thomas Roberts, Founder of Orfonyx Bio, for demonstrating the greatest potential to become a highly successful start-up, or "unicorn."

- Best Pitch: Andreas Halner, President of Oxford Cancer Analytics, secured the Best Pitch award and the £2,000 prize money for presenting the most innovative and viable business idea, showcasing exceptional presentation skills, and effectively communicating the potential impact and market opportunity of their concept.

Professor Dame Kay Davies, Dr Lee's Professor of Anatomy Emeritus, Thomas White Oxford for Oxford North said: "It was a pleasure to be part of the BioEscalator Pitch Battle 2024 judging panel. It was fun to meet the other judges and hear about the new companies. Exciting times."

Stephanie Lesage, Co-founder and CEO, Oxford Silk Phage Technologies added: "Thank you, BioEscalator, for another great pitch event! I'm delighted to have won the best speaker award, and big congratulations to my fellow BioEscalator colleagues. A special mention to Andreas Halner, who received a very well-deserved "best pitch" overall winner award!"

Rachel Barrett-Cole, Events and Communications Officer, BioEscalator said: "I wanted to express my gratitude on behalf of the BioEscalator team for sponsoring the BioEscalator Pitch Battle 2024. The event was a great success, and we received positive feedback from the speakers, judges, and audience."

Find out more https://www.bioescalator.ox.ac.uk/news/highlights-from-the-5th-annual-bioescalator-pitch-battle-2024

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