Winners of the Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards 2025 are revealed
The winners of the Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards 2025 have been revealed.
An incredible array of talent and record of achievements were on display at the eighth annual awards, held at Hinxton Hall on the world-famous Wellcome Genome Campus.
Three hundred guests enjoyed a networking reception at the conference centre, which featured displays from sponsors and a demonstration from finalist CMR Surgical of an arm from its surgical robot, Versius.
Among those gathered for the occasion were Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, Julie Spence, MP Ian Sollom, the newly-elected mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Paul Bristow, and a host of leading lights from science, technology and business.
Following the reception, it was time to enter the Francis Crick Auditorium, where editor Paul Brackley hosted the ceremony and revealed the winners, who were selected from another record number of entries by expert judging panels.
The event was also live-streamed, and you can rewatch it in full above.
All the winners are detailed below, followed by the story of the night.
The winners of the 2025 Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards
Lifetime Achievement Award
Sponsored by the Crown Estate
Winner: Dr Jane Osbourn
The One to Watch
Sponsored by cofinitive
Winner: Cambridge Kinetics
Highly Commended: Tolemy Bio
STEM Initiative of the Year
Sponsored by Cambridge Science Park
Winner: Cambridge Science Centre
Highly Commended: Active Science, from Cambridge United Foundation and AstraZeneca
Employer of the Year
Sponsored by COEL
Winner: Owlstone Medical
Highly Commended: Biofidelity
AI Company of the Year
Sponsored by BDO LLP
Winner: Luminance
Highly Commended: Healx
Researcher of the Year
Sponsored by AstraZeneca
Winner: Dr Nuru Noor, clinical lecturer, University of Cambridge / Addenbrooke's Hospital
Highly Commended: Dr Rachael Walker, head of flow cytometry, Babraham Institute
Cleantech Company of the Year
Sponsored by Woodfines Solicitors
Winner: Levidian
Highly Commended: Biozeroc
Start-up of the Year
Sponsored by Kao Data
Winner: OutSee
Highly Commended: Blecon
CEO of the Year
Sponsored by Howden Insurance
Winner: Eleanor Lightbody, Luminance
Highly Commended: Owen Thompson, Cambridge Future Tech
Medtech Company of the Year
Sponsored by St John’s Innovation Centre
Winner: CMR Surgical
Highly Commended: Cyted Health
The Tech for Good Award
Sponsored by Allia Future Business Centre Cambridge
Winner: QPT
Highly Commended: AstraZeneca’s next-gen inhaler propellant
Software Company of the Year
Sponsored by Mantle Space
Winner: IQGeo
Highly Commended: Advanced Infrastructure
The Award for Innovation
Sponsored by Railpen
Winner: ArtioSense
Highly Commended: Mursla Bio
Biotech Company of the Year
Sponsored by Appleyard Lees
Winner: Nuclera
Highly Commended: Constructive.Bio
Technology Company of the Year
Sponsored by the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Anglia Ruskin University
Winner: Nu Quantum
Highly Commended: Pragmatic Semiconductor
Life Science Company of the Year
Sponsored by Zyme Communications
Winner: Broken String Biosciences
Highly Commended: Astex Pharmaceuticals
From early stage companies to lifetime achievements: The story of the night
First to be revealed was the winner of the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, created to recognise outstanding and sustained achievements, and sponsored by The Crown Estate, which is developing plans to transform Cambridge Business Park.
This year, the award went to Dr Jane Osbourn, who joined a small Cambridge biotech start-up called Cambridge Antibody Technology that would go on to pioneer the use of phage display technology, which led to the discovery of important drugs such as the blockbuster Humira. Dr Osbourn authored a number of important scientific papers on antibody discovery and is an inventor of a number of patents in the field. She created a technique to assist with discovery of proximity-guided selection of antibodies - known as Proximol.
Cambridge Antibody Technology, meanwhile, would go on to be acquired by AstraZeneca and was merged with MedImmue as its global biologics R&D arm. Dr Osbourn became vice president for R&D and site leader. In 25 years with these companies, she contributed to the launch of eight new drugs.
Dr Osbourn also chaired the UK’s BioIndustry Association, has served as a director of Babraham Bioscience Technologies and Cambridge Enterprise, and was made an OBE for services to human monoclonal antibody drug research and development and biotechnology in 2019. Today, she is chair of the company Mogrify and CEO of Alchemab Therapeutics.
Dr Osbourn addressed the audience in a keynote speech.
The awards celebrate companies at all stages of their development.
The One to Watch Award, for the earliest stage companies, which was sponsored again by cofinitive communications and went to Cambridge Kinetics, while Tolemy Bio was highly commended.
There was double success for Luminance, as it won AI Company of the Year, sponsored by accountancy and business advice firm BDO, and CEO Eleanor Lightbody won CEO of the Year, supported by Howden Insurance.
The wins reflected an incredible year for the pioneer of Legal-Grade AI, which was built on a large language model developed at the University of Cambridge. It secured a $40million Series B funding round last year and has achieved a number of world first as it has brought next-gen AI to every touchpoint a business has with its contracts - including the first use of AI to completely automate the negotiation of a contract and the first use of AI at the Old Bailey, saving £50,000 and four weeks in time. One company has used it to analyse 20,000 contracts in just 20 minutes.
There was one other category for individuals - Researcher of the Year, sponsored by AstraZeneca, which convened an expert panel to help judge the entries.
It went to Dr Nuru Noor, clinical lecturer at the University of Cambridge and Addenbrooke's Hospital, who was first author of the PROFILE trial, the largest clinical trial of its type ever conducted in the UK for Crohn’s patients. Its game-changing results provide evidence for a new global standard of care.
Highly commended was the Babraham Institute’s Dr Rachael Walker, head of flow cytometry at the Babraham Institute.
The awards also look to the future and celebrate efforts to stimulate interest and promote careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The STEM Initiative of the Year, sponsored by Cambridge Science Park, was won by Cambridge Science Centre, which has had a fantastic year of inspiring young people at its new home and via its satellite centre in Wisbech.
Cambridge United Foundation and AstraZeneca’s Active Science programme, which combines science and physical activity, was highly commended for supporting schools, particularly in disadvantaged areas such as Abbey, King’s Hedges and Arbury, with a six-week curriculum for Year 5 and 6 pupils.
The final award of the evening was Life Science Company of the Year, sponsored by Zyme Communications. In another highly competitive field, Astex Pharmaceuticals was highly commended, while Broken String Biosciences emerged as the winner, having emerged as a key enabler of the CRISPR/gene editing therapeutics revolution.
For the stories of all of our winners, and all the pictures from the evening, don’t miss our special 10-page souvenir supplement inside next week’s Cambridge Independent, out from 21 May. For a digital subscription, visit https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/subscribe/ and use the code HALFPRICE for 50 per cent off.
Want to get involved next year? Contact paul.brackley@iliffemedia.co.uk.
