The University of Liverpool spin out company, CageCapture, has been selected as a finalist for the Spinoff Prize 2020, a new award by Nature Research to showcase excellence in research commercialisation.
CageCapture is one of only 12 companies selected from almost 150 entrants by an expert panel of judges and are profiled alongside other finalists in a special supplement published in Nature.
CageCapture will now take part in a ‘pitch slam’ competition where judges will be looking at the quality and originality of the underpinning science, the market opportunity, impact on society and business strategy.
From this, four finalists will be selected to participate in the second round of the `slam’ which will be part of the Future Insight Virtual Event on 13 July 2020.
The Spinoff Prize 2020, established by Nature Research in partnership with Merck, aims to provide visibility and support for academic entrepreneurs and their companies worldwide. The overall winner will receive a cash prize of €30,000.
CageCapture was formed with support from Innovate UK to take forward patented technology to remove toxic pollutants from the air.
The technology, invented by Dr Ming Liu and Professor Andrew Cooper from the University’s Materials Innovation Factory, comprises of a patented organic cage molecule that permanently captures sub-nano size pollutants, such as formaldehyde.
Dr Ming Liu said: “I am honored that CageCapture Ltd has been selected for this globally prestigious prize that recognises our world class scientific research, as well as the impact we have achieved in solving a real-life challenge in the past few years.
“This will give us much needed exposure and open doors to partners and investors. More importantly, it will help to raise public awareness of the indoor air pollution problem, which has often been overlooked as the focus has mainly on outdoor air pollution.”
CageCapture is led by Dr Ming Liu, Department of Chemistry and supported by Professor Andrew Cooper, Academic Director of the Materials Innovation Factory, Steve Kelly, Executive Chairman and Dr Andrew Spencer, IP Commercialisation Team.
To find out more about the CageCapture research and technology, visit the website>>>.
From l to r: Andrew Spencer, IP Commercialisation Team, Dr Ming Liu, Department of Chemistry and Steve Kelly, Interim CEO