Horizon joins select group of companies to receive award for a second time
Cambridge, UK, 18th March 2015: Horizon Discovery Group plc (LSE: HZD) (Horizon), the leading provider of research tools to support translational genomics and the development of personalized medicines, announced today that it has been named Business of the Year at the Business Weekly Awards, for the second time in the Company’s history.
The Business Weekly Awards, which are celebrating their 25th Anniversary, recognize the strongest companies in the East of England, from general industry to high technology and cutting edge science. The Business of the Year award is presented to the overall winner from all eight categories, and Horizon joins a select group of internationally successful companies which have won the title twice, including ARM Holdings plc (www.arm.com), Domino Printing Sciences plc (www.domino-printing.com), and CSR plc (www.csr.com).
Since Horizon was first named Business of the Year in 2011, the Group has transformed from a private UK life science business on a single site in Cambridge to a publicly-listed international life science group employing more than 230 staff across at facilities located in the UK, Austria and the United States.
Horizon listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in March 2014, when the company raised £68.6m, nearly three times the initial target. Since the IPO, Horizon has carried out a series of targeted acquisitions as well as expanding its suite of products and services. The Company’s intellectual property position has been bolstered and it has signed high-value contracts with leading life science and pharma companies, all contributing to growing revenues and creating shareholder value.
Dr. Darrin M. Disley, Chief Executive Officer of Horizon Discovery, commented: “To have been voted Business of the Year once alongside such great companies as Abcam, Autonomy, CAT, TTP, Virata and Xaar was an honor, but to have joined the likes of ARM, CSR and Domino in winning the title twice is a testament to the hard work and dedication of all of my colleagues at Horizon. I am proud to be surrounded by such a dynamic team across all functions within the Company which has helped me lead Horizon through this exciting time and position the group for continued success in the future.” Tony Quested, CEO, Business Weekly, said: “Horizon has long been a leading light in the Cambridge life science scene, and we are very pleased to have the opportunity to recognize their achievements for a second time with the Business of the Year award. We look forward to following Horizon’s continued worldwide success.”
ENDS
For further information from Horizon Discovery Group plc, please contact:
Zyme Communications (Trade and Regional Media)
Katie Odgaard
Tel: +44 (0)7787 502 947
Email: katie.odgaard@zymecommunications.com
Consilium Strategic Communications (Financial Media and Investor Relations)
Amber Bielecka / Jessica Hodgson / Matthew Neal / Laura Thornton
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5701
Email: horizon@consilium-comms.com
Notes to Editors
About Horizon Discovery Group plc www.horizondiscovery.com/
Horizon is a revenue-generating life science company supplying research tools to organizations engaged in genomics research and the development of personalized medicines. Horizon has a diverse and international customer base of over 1,000 organizations across nearly 50 countries, including major pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic companies as well as leading academic research centers. The Company supplies its products and services into multiple markets, estimated to total in excess of £29 billion by 2015.
Horizon’s core capabilities are built around its proprietary translational genomics platform, a high-precision and flexible suite of gene editing tools able to alter almost any endogenous gene sequence of human or mammalian cell-lines. Horizon offers almost 14,000 products, almost all of which are based on the application of gene editing to generate cell lines that accurately model the disease-causing mutations found in genetically based diseases. These ‘patients-in-a-test-tube’ are being used by customers to identify the effect of individual or compound genetic mutations on drug activity, patient responsiveness, and resistance, which may lead to the successful prediction of which patient sub-groups will respond to currently available and future drug treatments.
In addition, Horizon provides GENASSIST™ CRISPR and rAAV gene editing tools, custom cell line generation services for research and bioproduction applications, quantitative molecular reference standards, in vivo disease models, contract research and custom screening services and custom shRNA development services and off-the-shelf validated shRNA (through Horizon’s partner Sirion).
Horizon is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market under the ticker “HZD”, for further information please visit: www.horizondiscovery.com.
