4th December 2025
Welsh health and life science community receives awards for innovative projects at MediWales Innovation Awards 2025
On the 4th of December, MediWales held its 20th annual Innovation Awards dinner at the Mercure Holland House Hotel, Cardiff.
The MediWales Innovation Awards celebrate the fantastic achievements of the Welsh health and life science community and provides an excellent opportunity to engage with professionals from across the sector.
We welcomed more than 200 guests from across the health and life science community in Wales for a fantastic night, celebrating the innovative and collaborative successes of the sector. The event was held in collaboration with the Welsh Government and Health and Care Research Wales.
Throughout the evening, MediWales presented twelve awards to successful applicants from industry and health and social care. The MediWales Innovation Awards were split into six industry award categories and six health and care award categories.
The MediWales Innovation Awards were kindly supported by Welsh Government, Health and Care Research Wales and NHS Wales.
Industry Award Category Winners:
Innovation Award – The Innovation Award, supported by Red Medtech, recognises the development of an innovative technology, design and/or process that has produced a major improvement in business performance.
Winner: Afon Technology
Afon Technology is focused on transforming how the world manages diabetes. Its breakthrough innovation, Glucowear, is the world’s first non-invasive, real-time continuous glucose monitor, offering a completely pain-free alternative to traditional finger-pricks and sensors.
Using ultra-low power microwave technology, Glucowear delivers accurate readings through discreet, stylish wearable devices designed to fit seamlessly into daily life.
Developed through rigorous clinical trials with NHS partners in Wales and across Europe, and supported by a major global manufacturing partnership, Glucowear is on course for a worldwide launch in 2026.
With a growing team of specialists and international recognition for innovation and design, Afon Technology is pioneering a smarter, pain-free future for millions of people.
Partnership with the NHS Award – The Partnership with the NHS Award, supported by Welsh Government, recognises the development of a partnership or collaboration with the NHS that has, or will have improved their business performance and has benefited patient care within the NHS.
Winner: Concentric Health
Concentric Health is a Welsh startup working with healthcare organisations to transform the consent and shared decision-making process.
Trusted by more than 40 NHS partners, the company’s digital consent application replaces outdated, carbon-copy paper forms with a clear, accessible, and patient-friendly digital process. Today, Concentric Health is supporting over one million patients a year, with 20,000 clinician users, improving safety, efficiency, and understanding.
The company has collaborated with NHS partners across the UK, including leading academic centres including Imperial, Oxford, and Barts Health. A recent collaboration with Barts’ patient safety team has shaped key improvements in accessibility, translation, and usability.
Independent evaluations show that the introduction of Concentric has delivered a 5% reduction in day-of-surgery delays, a 50% reduction in consent-related medico-legal risk, and the most significant improvement in shared decision-making ever recorded in the NHS.
Start-Up Award – The Start-Up Award, supported by Teamworks Design, is awarded to the newly established company in the healthcare sector that shows a promising future. Applicants must have been trading no more than three years.
Winner: Draig Therapeutics
Draig Therapeutics is a clinical-stage company with a mission to advance treatments in neuropsychiatry.
Co-founded by Cardiff University and SV Health Investors, Draig is developing new therapies that target the brain’s glutamate and GABA systems, key regulators of mood, emotion, and cognition.
In its first year, Draig secured a landmark £107 million Series A investment, the largest in Welsh history, enabling rapid progress across its growing pipeline.
Its lead medicine, DT-101, a next-generation antidepressant designed to provide faster, longer-lasting relief for people living with Major Depressive Disorder, will enter Phase 2 trials in 2025.
The company is also advancing two GABA receptor modulators, DT-201 and DT-301, with strong potential to treat a range of prevalent and underserved neuropsychiatric disorders.
Draig, the Welsh word for dragon, symbolises the company’s proud roots in Wales, a name that captures both its heritage and its bold scientific ambition.
Outstanding Achievement Award – The Outstanding Achievement Award, supported by Biophys, is awarded for an achievement that has had a significant or vital impact on the company and market.
Winner: FRIO
FRIO UK is a manufacturer and global exporter of innovative cooling solutions for temperature-sensitive medication.
Their patented evaporative cooling wallets provide a reusable, sustainable alternative to ice packs and refrigeration, empowering people with diabetes and other conditions to travel and live with confidence.
Handmade in Wales and sold in more than 70 countries, FRIO products are trusted by healthcare professionals and patients worldwide.
In 2024, FRIO was honoured with The King’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade, recognising its global impact, innovation, and craftsmanship.
The achievement strengthened international partnerships and opened new opportunities across healthcare and emergency medicine sectors.
Driven by sustainability, quality, and purpose, FRIO continues to expand from its Welsh base, delivering life-changing technology and showcasing British innovation to the world.
Export Achievement Award – The Export Achievement Award, supported by Welsh Government Department for International Trade, is awarded for maximising opportunities to exploit and develop new markets or outstanding performance in other areas of international trade.
Winner: Huntleigh
Huntleigh Healthcare delivers innovative diagnostic and therapeutic medical technologies worldwide.
Specialising in vascular assessment, obstetrics, and patient monitoring, their technologies support clinicians in delivering safer, more effective care for patients around the world.
In the last financial year, Huntleigh achieved export sales of £17.5 million, building on sustained international growth.
A major success has been in the United States, where fetal monitoring sales rose by over 52% and intraoperative vascular probe sales increased by 47%.
Huntleigh’s exports now span Europe, the USA, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, supported by a blend of direct sales and strategic partnerships.
Focused investment, collaboration, and targeted expansion have driven Huntleigh’s outstanding export performance, showcasing Welsh innovation on a truly global stage.
Industry Judges Award – The Industry Judges’ Award, supported by GX, is awarded to the applicant that embodies the spirit of the MediWales Innovation Awards and for achievement and growth in the Welsh life science sector.
Winners: Amotio
Amotio is a pioneering MedTech company redefining orthopaedic revision surgery through precision focused, patient-specific innovation.
The company is developing groundbreaking technology that makes bone cement removal safer, faster, and more accurate – improving outcomes for patients and reducing the burden on healthcare systems worldwide.
In just 12 months, Amotio has raised more than £1.5 million in investment and grant funding, established a dedicated research and development facility, and built a multidisciplinary team committed to transforming revision surgery.
Working in collaboration with leading surgeons, universities, and international hospital partners, Amotio is designing the next generation of surgical devices which combines advanced digital planning, patient specific guides, and a suite of precision guided instruments. The solution offers a transformational approach which reduces surgical burden, restores mobility, and improves outcomes.
Industry Highly Commended Applicants
- ImmunoServ
- Yma
- Biophys
- TrakCel
- Health Tech Services Group
- Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board in collaboration with Elite Clothing
Health and Social Care Award Category Winners:
Scaling Up Innovation and Transformation Award – The Scaling up Innovation and Transformation Award, supported by Welsh Government, is to recognise a change in initiative that has led to the positive, sustained transformation of a health or social care service, model or technology that has demonstrated impact through being shared and implemented at scale, enabling others to benefit from the innovation and the lessons learnt along the way.
Winner: Swansea Bay University Health Board and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Developed by Swansea Bay and Cardiff & Vale University Health Boards, the Perioperative Care of Older People undergoing Surgery, or POPS, programme is transforming surgical care for older patients across Wales.
POPS places frailty screening and comprehensive geriatric assessment at the heart of surgical planning. The approach supports shared decision-making, helps patients prepare optimally for surgery and reduces surgical regret.
Since 2021, POPS has delivered measurable impact, improving safety, reducing cancellations, and saving more than £500,000 a year across two health boards alone.
Now rolling out nationally, the model could save over £5 million annually across Wales, embedding holistic, patient-centred care that improves outcomes, shortens waiting times, and gives older people greater control over their surgical care.
Health and Social Care Research Partnership with Industry Award – The Health and Social Care Research Partnership with Industry Award, supported by Health and Care Research Wales, is for the team who have partnered with industry to deliver a project or developed a collaboration with a particular focus on health or social care research.
Winner: Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and Prima Mente
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and Prima Mente are working together to transform how neurodegenerative diseases are diagnosed.
Through the UK-wide SANDBOX study, supported by Health and Care Research Wales, this partnership is testing cutting-edge tools, from blood-based biomarkers and genetic testing to digital cognitive assessments, that could make diagnosis faster, more accurate, and more accessible for patients across the NHS.
The study integrates artificial intelligence to analyse complex data, learning continuously to identify new biomarkers and improve real-world diagnostic performance.
The collaboration has streamlined governance, accelerated study delivery, and made Wales the first UK region to open a SANDBOX site.
Patients and public contributors have helped shape every stage of the study, ensuring it remains transparent, ethical, and patient-centred.
Technology and Digital Impact Award – The Technology and Digital Impact Award, supported by Fujifilm and Welsh Government, celebrates Technology and Digital innovations from across health and care that are having a positive impact on people in Wales.
Winner: Velindre University NHS Trust
Velindre Cancer Services is transforming radiotherapy through digital innovation.
Working with Cardiff University, the team has developed EdgeVcc – an automated treatment planning solution that uses advanced algorithms to design precise, personalised cancer treatment plans in a fraction of the usual time.
By embedding clinical decision-making directly into automation, EdgeVcc ensures every plan meets the same high standards of safety, accuracy, and quality – improving consistency, reducing risk of delays, and freeing up healthcare scientists to focus on complex cases.
The system supported around 30% of radical radiotherapy patients at Velindre, with studies demonstrating efficiency savings in plan generation time of over 80%.
With funding from Cancer Research Wales, the next phase introduces a pioneering AI-based auditing platform, providing insight into treatment variation across centres and driving continuous quality improvement.
Health and Social Care – Industry Collaboration Award –The Health and Social Care – Industry Collaboration award, supported by Welsh Government, recognises NHS Wales personnel who have collaborated with industry on a project that has resulted in major impact and benefit.
Winners: All Wales Medical Genomic Service in collaboration with Illumina
The All Wales Medical Genomics Service (AWMGS) and Illumina have forged a pioneering partnership that is reshaping the future of cancer diagnostics in NHS Wales.
Together, they established a collaboration for QuicDNA, a real-world study using liquid biopsy technology to detect traces of cancer DNA circulating in the bloodstream. This cutting-edge innovative genomic approach provides faster, more accurate results for patients with suspected late stage lung cancer, reducing diagnostic pathway delays by 24 days and enabling clinicians to make life-saving treatment decisions sooner.
Through this collaboration, NHS Wales has validated a world-class genomic testing platform, supported by over £4.2 million in investment from Illumina. The success of QuicDNA is now being extended to other cancer types through broadening the reach of early detection and precision medicine across Wales.
This partnership showcases how innovation between the NHS and industry can drive progress, improve outcomes, and deliver more equitable, sustainable healthcare for the future.
Social Care Innovation through Collaboration – The Social Care Innovation Through Collaboration Award is an open category for NHS Wales, Industry, Third Sector, Local Authority or Academia, for personnel who have collaborated to innovate on a social care project that has resulted in major impact and benefit.
Winner: Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and Cardiff Metropolitan University ANCLE Café team
The ANCLE Café is reimagining how community wound care is delivered, blending health, social care, and education in a warm, non-clinical setting.
A collaboration between Cardiff & Vale University Health Board, Cardiff Metropolitan University, and community partners, the Café brings together nurses, podiatrists, dieticians, psychologists, and students to provide expert wound care alongside wellbeing support and digital monitoring.
Patients receive treatment and advice in a welcoming social space, helping to reduce isolation, speed healing, and build confidence in self-care. Healing rates have improved by up to 70%, while demand on GP and district nursing services has fallen.
For staff and students, the Café offers a unique, multidisciplinary learning environment that strengthens recruitment and resilience in the community workforce.
Health and Social Care Judges Award – The Health and Social Care Judges’ Award is awarded to the applicant that embodies the spirit of the MediWales Innovation Awards and for their overall contribution to healthcare delivery in Wales.
Winners: Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
The University Hospital of Wales, Cardiology team is leading a pioneering approach to heart health through the Post-Revascularisation Lipid Optimisation Service.
This pilot programme supports patients recovering from heart attacks and coronary procedures, helping them achieve healthy cholesterol levels and reduce their risk of future cardiac events.
Backed by a £500,000 grant from four industry partners, the service combines specialist review, follow-up testing, and multidisciplinary care to deliver faster, more personalised treatment.
Prior to implementation of the project, only one in five patients received post-discharge lipid testing. Today, all eligible patients receive a comprehensive review, with therapy individually tailored to their clinical needs.
This collaboration has improved recovery, reduced repeat admissions, and demonstrated how partnership between the NHS, academia, and industry can deliver measurable benefits for patients and the health system.
Health and Social Care Highly Commended Applicants
- Swansea University Simulation and Immersive Learning Centre
- Swansea Bay University Health Board – Nuclear Medicine
- Swansea Bay University Health Board South West Wales Cancer Centre Stereotatic Ablative Radiotherapy team
- Cardiff and Vale University Health Board – Dragon’s Heart Institute
- Cardiff and Vale University Health Board – Diabetes and Endocrinology
Click here to view the project videos for each of the MediWales Innovation Awards 2025 award winners.
MediWales is the independent life science network for Wales, bringing together industry, academia and the clinical community to support the advancement of human life science in Wales, creating collaborations and opportunities for our members.
If you are interested in learning more about MediWales and how we support the sector, click here.