Singapore’s ClearBridge BioMedics wins 2012 Asian Entrepreneurship Awards

Clearbridge BioMedics has won the 2012 Asian Entrepreneurship Awards in a business plan competition held from 9-11th May 2012 in Kiashiwanoha, Japan.

The company won due to its ClearCell System, a cell-based invitro diagnostic device that isolates and retrieves intact and viable circulating tumor cells from blood.

It was the only Singaporean participant out of 18 total startup companies representing 12 countries. As the winner, it took home three million yen (S$47,000) and three years of free tenancy at the Tokatsu Techno Plaza in Chiba Prefecture.

Clearbridge BioMedics is a spin-off company from the Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore.

“Participating in this event was a great experience for us. We were able to network and present to an audience, including venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and potential partners. Japan is a very important market for us, winning this award will be a launch pad for us to bring the technology there,” says Dr Andrew Wu, project director, Clearbridge BioMedics.

The majority of the finalists came from business incubators or consisted of University spin-offs. The judging panel looked for innovativeness, the businesses’ economic and social impact, as well as the companies’ ability to implement their business strategies.

Moving forward, Clearbridge BioMedics plan to use the prize money to further accelerate the development of its next-generation microfluidics biochips. They also hope to explore a wider number of applications in the life sciences and medical diagnostic fields.