Pieter Cullis has won the 2022 Bloom Burton Award.
Bloom Burton & Co., a firm dedicated to accelerating returns in healthcare for investors and companies, awarded Cullis at a gala in the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto for his role as cofounder of Acuitas Therapeutics.
Acuitas Therapeutics developed lipid nanoparticle delivery systems for molecular therapeutics, which are a “critical technology that help to accelerate, among other life-saving therapies, mRNA vaccine development,” according to a statement from the Vancouver-based company.
Bestowed annually, the Bloom Burton Award honours an individual scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, or industry leader who made the greatest contribution to Canada’s innovative healthcare industry in the previous year. Cullis’ discovery played a role in combatting Covid-19, Bloom Burton & Co. believes.
“We are honoured to recognize Pieter Cullis with the 2022 Bloom Burton Award,” said Jolyon Burton, President of Bloom Burton & Co. “It is a privilege to celebrate world-changing Canadian innovation and the Bloom Burton Award does exactly that—recognizing excellence among industry colleagues to continue inspiring future achievements and greatness.”
Nominees were accepted from biotechnology, medical device, diagnostic and imaging, research instrumentation, consumer health, and more—across any stage of development, from discovery to commercial-end markets.
The Bloom Burton Award panel of judges comprised of Michael Altman, Managing Director, Perceptive Advisors; Christopher Arendt, Head of Oncology Therapeutic Area Unit, Takeda; Karen Bernstein, Co-Founder and Chairman, BioCentury; Carl Gordon, Managing Partner, OrbiMed Advisors; Dennis Purcell, Founder and Senior Advisor, Aisling Capital; Melinda Richter, Global Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS; and Camille Samuels, Partner, Venrock.
Acuitas Therapeutics originally spun out of the University of British Columbia, which has become known for its bio-tech savvy and entrepreneurial essence. The entrepreneurship@UBC program is just one example of the institution as a castaylst for innovation.
According to the report “B.C. Life Sciences Update 2021: Building on a Foundation of Innovation,” British Columbia’s ecosystem has never been stronger. The report, released by The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade in collaboration with LSBC, cites that the province is home to the fastest growing life sciences sector in Canada, employing 18,000 people at 2,000 companies.
Vancouver also recently ranked the highest of all Canadian cities in the Life Sciences edition of the Global Startup Ecosystem Report, further demonstrating the critical significance and potential far reaching impacts of the scientific discoveries and innovations taking place within the province.
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