Norwich Research Park hosts angel investor event

 17/11/2011 By Maximilian Clarke

An intelligent prescription support system, a smart device that ensures valuable samples for clinical trials arrive in peak condition, a drug detection device that uniquely links the specimen to the person, and a method of providing scientific evidence for a new generation of medicines were all presented to angel investors at an event designed to show the technologies and business opportunities emerging from Norwich Research Park.

Angel investors were invited to the launch of VENTA, a new initiative supported by the Cambridge Capital Group, which aims to encourage potential high growth, early-stage companies to set up and flourish on the Norwich Research Park. Four science-based companies were selected to present to a group of 40 investors and professional advisers at the event hosted at the NRP Innovation Centre.

Walter Herriot, chair of Norwich Research Park’s Enterprise from Innovation Board, says: “The Norwich Research Park is a world-leading centre for research in areas such as food, diet and health, and plant science, with the wider environmental expertise in earth and life systems. The focus over the next ten years is to create new jobs by maximising the commercial potential of this intellectual property and attracting inward investment.”

Attracting new companies to the Park that can exploit opportunities, such as those offered by The Genome Analysis Centre with its state-of-the art equipment and expertise, will bring value to the entire proposition.

One of the companies invited to present is Trillion Genomics. The company has developed an imaging technology that can be used to gain more information about the metabolic pathways in the human body. Although many foods, such as tomatoes and broccoli, are known to contain beneficial nutrients that could be used to prevent the progression of some diseases, it is difficult to identify how they work in the body