Innovation blossoms in Norwich Research Park hothouse
Home-grown talent took centre stage in the event, which was won by Quadram Institute spin-out Quadlytics. Founded by Quadram Institute scientist Hannah Morelli, Quadlytics is developing technology that identifies combinations of bacteriophages (phages) – helpful viruses that can be used as alternatives to antibiotics to kill bacteria in humans, animals and in the environment, as well as contributing to the effort in eradicating antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
Runner-up was RhosynBio, which was founded by Dannielle Cox-Pridmore from a collaboration between the University of East Anglia (UEA), the Quadram Institute and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH).
RhosynBio is pioneering a novel antimicrobial surface modification designed to prevent biofilm formation. Bacterial biofilms are resilient communities that adhere to surfaces and create serious problems including infection, contamination, corrosion and equipment fouling across sectors such as healthcare, water systems and the food industry.
Zyvex® Antimicrobial – co-founded by Yan Fen Lee – was third: The startup has developed an antimicrobial formulation that represents a breakthrough in food safety. Created entirely from Food Standards Agency (FSA)-approved materials, it is 100 per cent organic, completely food-safe and edible, yet significantly reduces the presence of all FSA-listed food-borne bacteria including Listeria.
The Rising Star Award, designed to recognise a finalist in the very early stages of development that demonstrates exciting innovation in its venture and is likely to succeed, went to Agseer, which was founded by Joshua Williams of the John Innes Centre.
Williams is developing an app for farmers that will use image datasets and AI computer vision models that can be harnessed by autonomous robots to understand mixed-species agricultural environments.The app populates digitally-simulated fields with 3D models of real plants to develop training datasets that have diversity far exceeding that of real fields.
Roz Bird, CEO of Anglia Innovation Partnership, the campus management company for Norwich Research Park, said: “Our Innovation HotHouse events, held every November, are a fantastic platform for showcasing new spin-out potential at Norwich Research Park. We are already nurturing over 40 start-ups on our campus-wide enterprise programme and Anglia Innovation Partnership is helping them to develop their businesses and achieve seed funding.
“The eight companies that participated in this event are the latest to take that first step into commercialising their research. With a unique breadth and depth of scientific activity on one campus, from agri-food to health-nutrition and the environment, Norwich Research Park offers huge potential for new spin-outs with ideas that can change the world. I am really looking forward to hearing from the 2025 Hothouse cohort.”
Other finalists were:-
• Crit, founded by Frank Walker from the University of East Anglia (UEA), who has designed a functional assistive AI tool to remove language barriers for individuals with dyslexia.
• BeanTastic Hummus, founded by Rudy Maor which offers clean label, tasty and nutritious hummus dip formulated with ingredients to support women’s health and potentially reduce menopause symptoms.
• WeAreHistoryHub, founded by Rosa Legeno-Bell, is an education platform that aims to transform how history is taught in schools offering inclusive support to teachers that align with national standards while actively decolonising the curriculum.
• Vertebral Fragility Fractures, founded by Kate Lucas, who works at NNUH, it provides a warning flag for osteoporosis by re-auditing the identification of vertebral fragility fractures to identify which patients require a review of their bone health evaluation and osteoporosis treatment.