Award Recipient To Develop Novel Biological Ingredients Into Tool That Enhances Patient Healing & Recovery After Surgery

Medicines New Zealand is pleased to announce the 2022 recipients of the Value of Medicines Awards. The industry association has rewarded outstanding researchers for undertaking innovative research into the use of medicines or vaccines since 2011, and after a hiatus in part due to COVID, has relaunched the awards earlier this year with a new approach seeing two awards now being given.

The Innovation Jump Start Award is presented to an Early Career researcher with a passion for innovation in medicines and vaccines. It includes a total value of up to $30,000 to help achieve short-term research goals and provide them with support to achieve longer-term career aspirations.

The applications received for the inaugural Innovation Jump Start Award were all of an extremely high standard, with the recipient Dr Emma Wade (Otago University) demonstrating a real passion for innovation and the translation of knowledge into better outcomes for patients. A serendipitous observation made during her research has led to the identification of a protein with significant potential for development into a biological therapeutic to improve post-surgical healing of the fascia after abdominal surgeries such as hernia repairs, caesarean sections, and surgery for pelvic prolapse. If the findings of her proposed research are positive and it is feasible to develop a biological therapeutic product using this protein, it would have the potential to improve outcomes for a vast range of people and could save the health system money by avoiding the need for repeat surgeries.

The second award - the Medicines New Zealand Award for Excellence in Innovative Medicines Research will be presented to a well-established New Zealand researcher in recognition of their individual research achievements and acknowledgment and celebration of their significant contribution to the wider biopharmaceutical research sector in New Zealand.

Professor Richard Robson is a passionate advocate for innovative medicines research. The Board of Medicines New Zealand is delighted to ask Professor Robson to accept the inaugural Medicines New Zealand Award for Excellence in Innovative Medicines Research. Professor Robson has had involvement as a principal investigator on more than 70 clinical trials and as an author on approximately 100 publications. He has gone above and beyond in his commitment to innovative biopharmaceutical research in New Zealand through his decades of involvement with the Health Research Council’s Standing Committee on Therapeutic Trials (SCOTT).

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