Huge congratulations to our cofounder and CDSO, Dr Layla Hosseini-Gerami, for being recognised for Innovate UK’s Women in Innovation award.
The Innovate UK Women in Innovation Awards is celebrating 50 women leading the charge in groundbreaking industries. This year’s winners are tackling critical social, environmental and economic challenges, creating a robust pipeline of women-led businesses for future investment. Each winner will receive a £75,000 grant to launch a project, personalised business coaching, and access to networking, role modelling and training opportunities.
Dr Layla Hosseini-Gerami has launched a project that seeks to extend our AI platform, SAFEPATH, to address the significant gap in drug safety understanding in diverse populations. Traditional drug studies predominantly involve white male participants, leading to known oversight of toxicity risks in women and ethnic minorities. This project aims to address this disparity by utilising patient-derived data, in partnership with Genomics England and Cytochroma, to predict Gefitinib-induced liver toxicity risks in sub-populations, building on a recent case study where we identified a novel mechanism.
This grant will enable us to expand SAFEPATH in two crucial areas:
Dr. Hosseini-Gerami, CDSO of Ignota Labs, said: “This initiative not only strives for scientific excellence but also emphasises the importance of diversity and inclusion in research. Through the successful execution of this project, I aim to inspire future generations of women and underrepresented minorities to pursue careers in science and innovation. With the support of this grant, SAFEPATH will advance the field of personalised medicine, ensuring that drug development is both inclusive and equitable, ultimately benefiting society as a whole.”
Emily Nott, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Innovate UK, said: “Innovate UK’s Women in Innovation Awards spotlight the UK’s most groundbreaking women entrepreneurs. This year’s winners have shown incredible leadership and creativity. We’re thrilled to support them in scaling their businesses and inspiring the next wave of women innovators. Their success stories will undoubtedly pave the way for more women to enter and thrive in the world of innovation.”
Dr Stella Peace, Interim Executive Chair of Innovate UK, said: “The Women in Innovation programme is a powerful catalyst for change, not just for the brilliant women entrepreneurs it supports, but for the entire UK innovation landscape. By breaking down barriers and amplifying diverse voices, Innovate UK are fostering a more inclusive and dynamic ecosystem that drives progress across all sectors. This programme is about more than funding – it's about creating role models, building networks, and inspiring the next generation of women innovators to dream big and transform our world."
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Further information about Innovate UK Women in Innovation can be found here.
About Ignota Labs
Ignota Labs rescues promising but failing drugs, bringing new life to abandoned projects and new hope to patients. More than half of all clinical trials fail due to safety issues, resulting in a staggering $400 billion annual loss and delaying life-saving treatments for patients. Our proprietary platform, SAFEPATH, uses cutting-edge deep learning to address these challenges by uncovering the mechanisms behind drug toxicity. Unlike traditional safety assessments that identify what went wrong, our AI platform SAFEPATH combines cheminformatics, bioinformatics, and multimodal data analysis to explain why and how safety issues occur, delivering actionable insights to refine or repurpose drug candidates. Ignota Labs is building a robust pipeline to bring safer drugs to market faster, partnering to develop and co-develop assets that might otherwise fail, and accelerating the delivery of vital therapies to patients in need. For more information, visit ignotalabs.ai.
Media Contact
Hailey Eustace
hailey@commplicated.com
+44 07480 559 199
