Darwin Bioprospecting Excellence wins QIA award as one of the most innovative SMEs in the world

The company Darwin Bioprospecting Excellence, located in the business area of the Parc Científic de la Universitat de València, has been awarded the QIA (Quality Innovation Awards) as one of the most innovative SMEs in the world for the search of microorganisms with different industrial applications.

The award ceremony took place last week in Kazakhstan where the CEO of the company, Manuel Porcar, and the director of external relations of the Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness (Ivace), Jordi Sebastiá, attended. The Valencian entity has accompanied and advised the company in all phases of this award. 

This year, the QIA awards, in which the Association of Centers for the Promotion of Excellence in Spain collaborates, including Ivace, has celebrated its sixteenth edition with a total of 728 registered nominations, of which only 24 have been awarded worldwide being Darwin Bioprospecting, spin-off of the University of Valencia (UV), the only representative of the Valencian Community.

Jordi Sebastiá, Ivace external relations director, and Manuel Porcar, CEO of Darwin Bioprospecting Excellence, in Kazakhstan. PHOTO: Darwin Bioprospecting Excellence.

"It is a recognition of a business model that in the case of this company consists of the development of new products for industry based on microorganisms and in close collaboration with each of the clients," explains Porcar. Beyond probiotics, microbial diversity offers a wide range of possibilities: there are microorganisms capable of degrading plastic, producing biogas or decontaminating sulfate-rich water, among other functions.

The director of external relations of Ivace expressed his satisfaction that the Valencian Community continues to be on the world map of innovation thanks to the efforts and work of leading companies such as Darwin Bioprospecting, while highlighting the commitment of Ivace and the Ministry of Sustainable Economy for innovation as an engine of growth. 

The Ivace offers SMEs advice and support at all stages of the QIA Awards, both nationally and internationally, achieving a successful participation this year with 32 companies registered in the various categories.

"It is a recognition of a business model that consists of developing new products for the industry based on microorganisms and in close collaboration with customers", Manel Porcar, CEO of Darwin Bioprospecting Excellence.

Pioneering technology and customized solutions 

Darwin, a company belonging to the PCUV's business area, offers 'a la carte' microbial solutions. The company has a proprietary technology that allows it to grow microorganisms in the laboratory that other companies are unable to cultivate. It is this innovative technology that has led the biotech company to win one of the three awards in the SME Business Innovation category of the QIA 2023 Awards.  

DARWIN is one of the 50 companies that since 2018 have participated in the European business growth program ScaleUp, supported by the European Commission and awarded at international level, where it was awarded in the 2020 edition. This European program is coordinated by Ivace in collaboration with the SEIMED network and the European Business and Innovation Center (CEEI ) of Valencia.

The criteria used to evaluate the different applications were based on novelty value, usability, learning, customer orientation and efficiency. 

Spain, the country with the most winners 

The different participating innovations came from Botswana, China, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, India, Israel, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Rwanda, Russia, South Africa, Serbia, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden and Zimbabwe. Of all these, Spain was the country with the highest number of award-winning innovations in the QIA Awards 2023. The criteria used to evaluate the various entries were based on novelty value, usability, learning, customer orientation and effectiveness.