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For Immediate Release
U.K. biotech company receives award in competition
for corporate office in Fairfax County BioAccelerator
Fairfax information security company receives award for space in U.K. incubator
Fairfax County, Virginia, January 29, 2004—Two technology companies —a British biotechnology company that makes products for monitoring the human immune system and a Fairfax County information security consultancy—received their awards for winning the “Touchdown” Transatlantic Business Plan Competition organized by the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) and UK Trade & Investment. The companies received their awards at a networking dinner and ceremony last night at the HSBC headquarters in London.
ProImmune Ltd, from Oxford in Great Britain will take a place in the Fairfax County BioAccelerator this year and receive customized business development services to help it expand in the U.S. market. The package is valued around $60,000. 4FrontSecurity from Reston, Virginia, will take office space at the Royal Holloway Enterprise Centre, part of the Surrey Enterprise Hub at Royal Holloway College, and receive business development services and administrative support.
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| Left to right: Mick Ryan, Director, FCEDA; Chris Parker, CEO, 4FrontSecurity; Douglas Blausten, Senior Partner, Cyril Leonard and Chairman, Transatlantic Business Development Forum of BritishAmerican Business Inc.; Gerald Gordon, President and CEO, FCEDA; Dr. Linda Tan, ProImmune Ltd.; Dr. Nikolai Schwabe, CEO, ProImmune Ltd.; Sir Stephen Brown, Chief Executive, U.K. Trade & Investment. |
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The Touchdown competition attracted seven U.K. biotechnology companies looking to expand to the U.S. and eight companies from Fairfax County eyeing the U.K. and European markets.
Sir Stephen Brown, Chief Executive UK Trade & Investment, and Gerald L. Gordon, Ph.D., president and CEO of the FCEDA, awarded plaques to ProImmune CEO Nikolai Schwabe and 4Front Security CEO Chris Parker.
Addressing the guests, Dr Gordon said: "We are delighted to be able to help these companies expand into new markets sooner through the competition. ProImmune will find a great network of bioscience companies, federal agencies and organizations in Fairfax County to help its expansion plans, and 4Front Security is well-positioned to market its products to financial institutions and the UK government."
Schwabe described the award as a "major achievement" for the company. He said: "We are naturally very pleased at the opportunity, since we will be able to establish a physical presence in the U.S. sooner than we expected. Entering the U.S. market will more than double the potential revenue for ProImmune, and this move heralds an exciting new growth phase for us. We are looking forward to setting up and getting going."
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Dr. Nikolai Schwabe, CEO, ProImmune Ltd.; Dr. Linda Tan, ProImmune Ltd.; and Gerald Gordon, President and CEO, FCEDA. |
4Front Security CEO and Co-Founder Chris Parker said he was excited to move into the U.K. and European markets sooner than he planned. "The U.K. and Europe present many opportunities for us to sell our information security services, and the help we receive to do that will be invaluable."
Fairfax County, the technology gateway to the US east coast, is home of more than 4,800 technology companies, including 36 U.K. firms that have chosen it as their North American base.
Joining with FCEDA and UK Trade & Investment this year as competition organizers were the UK Science Park Association, UK Business Incubation, BritishAmerican Business Inc., British Trade International, and the Bio Industries Association. “Touchdown” sponsors in the UK are FCEDA, Cyril Leonard, HSBC, Penningtons, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Taylor Wessing, Virgin Atlantic Airways and the South East England Development Agency.
Background information:
ProImmune Ltd (www.proimmune.com) is a privately held biotechnology company headquartered in Oxford, U.K., and specializes in providing high quality research reagents for monitoring the immune system. ProImmune has customers in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, clinical and academic sectors around the world. ProImmune has applied for several patents covering its core technology. It recently opened an office in Paris.
4FrontSecurity, Inc. (www.4frontsecurity.com) is a privately held information security infrastructure consultancy and services firm based in Reston, Virginia, in the heart of the Washington, D.C., information technology corridor. The company provides an integrated business approach to information security and assurance, and cost-effective solutions in the financial services, utilities, energy, manufacturing, health care and life sciences industries, law firms, professional services firms and government.
The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org) provides a wide array of services and information designed to promote Fairfax County, Virginia, as a leading business and technology center. Business development specialists work with U.S. and foreign companies interested in expanding or relocating operations. The FCEDA has marketing offices in London, Frankfurt and Tokyo.
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| Sir Stephen Brown, Chief Executive, U.K. Trade & Investment. |
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UK Trade & Investment (www.tradepartners.gov.uk) is the British Government's worldwide economic development agency, helping U.S. companies set up in the U.K. or expand from a British base swiftly and smoothly. UK Trade & Investment's U.S. headquarters in the United States is in New York City with regional offices in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere.
More information about the competition, winning companies and sponsors is available at www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org or www.FairfaxCountyEDA.co.uk.
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