Nexus BioQuest is delighted and honoured to have received The Kings Award for Enterprise in International Trade 2026, one of the UK's most prestigious business accolades. The award was formally presented by the Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Somerset, Robbie Drewett, in recognition of the company's outstanding achievements in international trade and its growing impact within the global life sciences sector.

The King's Awards for Enterprise celebrate exceptional business success and recognise organisations that have demonstrated excellence, innovation and sustainable growth. Receiving this award is a significant milestone for Nexus BioQuest and reflects the dedication, expertise and ambition that have driven the company's success since its founding.

Speaking during the presentation, the Vice Lord-Lieutenant highlighted the significance of the achievement:

"This is a very special achievement. The King's Awards are among the highest honours that can be given to a business, and they are certainly not easy to win. So, receiving one is something about which everyone here should feel enormously proud."

The award recognises Nexus BioQuest's success in delivering high-quality immunology and translational research services to clients around the world. Through a commitment to scientific excellence, collaboration and customer partnership, the company has established itself as a trusted partner supporting drug discovery and development programmes across the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors.

Reflecting on the achievement, the leadership team shared their gratitude for everyone who has contributed to the company's journey:

"This recognition belongs to an incredible team. Thank you to everyone at Nexus BioQuest for your commitment, ambition and professionalism. Thank you to our clients for partnering with us and backing our science. And thank you to our investors and board members for your belief, support and guidance as we grow."

The team also reflected on the significance of receiving such a prestigious award at this stage of the company's development:

"To have received this prestigious recognition so early in our journey is especially meaningful. It is a powerful validation of the work we do, the trust our clients place in us, and our belief that high-quality, science-led services from the UK can deliver a real global impact."

Since its inception, Nexus BioQuest has remained focused on a clear vision: to build a trusted scientific partner delivering world-class immunology and translational research expertise.

"The King's Award for Enterprise recognises the vision we set from the start: to build a trusted partner for immunology and translational research."

Nexus BioQuest is immensely proud of this achievement and grateful to its employees, clients, investors and partners who have contributed to its success. As the company continues to grow its global presence, it remains committed to advancing scientific innovation and supporting the development of next-generation therapies that improve patient outcomes worldwide.

Read more in the King's Awards Magazine feature: King's Awards Magazine

Dijon, France – 16th September, 2026 – Oncodesign Services and Nexus BioQuest have formed a partnership connecting their respective in vitro and in vivo expertise, giving biotech companies a clearer route to specialist support as preclinical programs progress.

The collaboration links Nexus BioQuest’s human-relevant in vitro expertise with Oncodesign Services’ three decades of experience in in vivo pharmacology. With shared experience across oncology, inflammation and autoimmunity, the two companies will be able to contribute complementary scientific approaches within individual development programs.

The partnership is intended to give biotech companies, particularly those with compact internal teams, access to specialist capabilities from either organization as their scientific requirements evolve. Where appropriate, clients can involve both teams in discussions around preclinical study requirements, while retaining the flexibility to select the studies and providers relevant to their program.

Nexus BioQuest brings expertise in human primary cell-based immunology, combining translational 2D and 3D models that integrate immune cells and relevant tissue targets with validated and bespoke assay development across immuno-oncology, inflammation and autoimmunity. Oncodesign Services' capabilities include syngeneic, patient-derived xenograft (PDX), cell-derived xenograft (CDX) and humanized immune system in vivo models, inflammatory disease models, radiopharmaceuticals, and preclinical imaging. These complementary capabilities give biotech teams access to different types of preclinical evidence to support informed decision-making as their scientific requirements evolve.

Endometriosis is a proof-of-concept for this joint approach and an emerging therapeutic area for immune targeting drugs within the broader women's health and inflammation space. As endometriosis is a highly complex, multifactorial disease, this is an area where Nexus BioQuest’s in vitro primary cell inflammatory models can be used to complement Oncodesign Services’ validated in vivo endometriosis models that can assess pathophysiological endpoints including lesion development, fibrosis and inflammatory responses.

Aidan Synnott, CEO at Oncodesign Services, said: “For biotech teams, the challenge is often not finding another CRO, but finding the right expertise for the scientific question they need to answer next.

“We know the Nexus BioQuest team and the quality of its science, which means we can make an introduction with confidence when a program needs capabilities outside of our specialist scope. The same applies in the other direction. For researchers, it provides a route to another specialist team without having to start that search from scratch. Our goal is to help minimize the uncertainty and risk that go hand-in-hand with limited funds and timelines.”

Both organizations emphasize close scientific collaboration with clients and adapting study approaches as new questions emerge during a program.

Will Parish, CEO at Nexus BioQuest, said: “Early drug discovery rarely comes down to a single experiment or model. There are points where you need to understand what is happening in a human-relevant in vitro system and others where an in vivo model can provide a different level of insight.

“Having access to trusted specialist expertise in both areas gives biotech teams a clearer route to the support they need at different points in preclinical development, helping them make more informed decisions about where to place their work.”

Recommendations made through the partnership will be based on the scientific requirements of each program and where partner organizations can bring the most relevant expertise, providing clients with informed choices and full control over which provider they engage and how their program is staged.

About Oncodesign Services:
Oncodesign Services is a preclinical CRO specialized in oncology, radiopharmaceuticals, and immune-mediated diseases. With recognized expertise in early-stage radiopharma programs, and leveraging advanced capabilities in in vivo pharmacology and preclinical imaging, the company generates robust efficacy and translational data to support confident progression towards the clinic.

About Nexus BioQuest

Nexus BioQuest is a preclinical immunology CRO delivering advanced in vitro services to

support the discovery and development of next generation immune therapeutics. The portfolio

addresses the increasing complexity of modern immunology programmes, combining cutting-

edge biology with predictive, human-relevant translational models to accelerate drug

development across immuno-oncology, oncology, autoimmunity and neuroinflammation.

Media Contact: Aranda Rahbarkouhi
ramarketing
aranda@ramarketingpr.com
+44 7807 009 347

Written by Dr Amy Francis, PhD (Senior Data Scientist)

I recently attended an event hosted by Bristol Centre for Supercomputing (BriCS) in partnership with NVIDIA, which focused on how Isambard-AI can accelerate startup innovation and help shape the UK's AI ecosystem. The talks covered everything from cutting-edge AI models and national AI infrastructure to the opportunities available for founders, researchers and businesses to build things that may not otherwise be possible.

The event took place in Bristol's brand-new digital innovation hub, located at the heart of the city's rapidly expanding enterprise campus. The venue itself reflected the level of investment and ambition driving Bristol's growth as a centre for technology and innovation. Surrounded by ongoing development and construction, it was hard not to notice the sense of momentum. Bristol is actively investing in its future and positioning itself as a key player in the UK's AI landscape.

The event began with an introduction to Isambard-AI, providing an overview of the scale of the project and the ambitions behind it. Despite being relatively new, adoption has grown quickly, and the team spoke openly about plans for continued expansion. It was clear that the vision extends beyond building a powerful supercomputer; there is a wider goal of creating the infrastructure needed to support AI research, innovation and commercial growth, while helping to keep Bristol at the forefront of developments in the field.

The team also had a core focus on sustainability. As AI continues to evolve, conversations increasingly centre on the energy demands associated with training and deploying large-scale models. It was therefore encouraging to see environmental considerations treated as a key design principle. Powered by NVIDIA GH200 Grace Hopper Superchips, Isambard-AI is ranked among the world's most energy-efficient supercomputers; using a closed-loop liquid cooling system designed to improve efficiency and reduce overall energy consumption.

We also heard how Isambard-AI now underpins the UK's £500 million *Sovereign AI initiative, highlighting the important role it is playing in the country's wider AI strategy.

*What do we mean by Sovereign AI?

Sovereign AI is a nation's ability to develop, deploy and govern AI technologies using infrastructure, data, talent and regulatory frameworks within its own jurisdiction. As AI becomes increasingly important to economic growth, public services and national security, many countries are recognising the importance of maintaining control over the technologies that will shape their future. Sovereign AI is about ensuring organisations can innovate using trusted infrastructure while retaining control over sensitive data and intellectual property, as well as national competitiveness. Alongside access to computing power, it also creates opportunities to benefit from local expertise, support networks, funding opportunities and regulatory alignment.

This led into a session from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which provided an overview of the AI Research Resource (AIRR). The session explained how startups, researchers and businesses can access government-backed compute resources and the application routes available to them. For many organisations, particularly early-stage startups, access to this level of infrastructure would normally be difficult or prohibitively expensive, so it was useful to better understand what support is available.

In many ways, accessibility became one of the key themes of the day. For AI startups, access to compute remains one of the biggest barriers to innovation. Training models, running experiments and validating ideas often requires significant investment, forcing founders to make difficult decisions about where to focus limited resources. Infrastructure such as Isambard-AI, together with initiatives like AIRR, helps lower this barrier by making world-class computing resources more accessible. This allows startups to test ideas faster, explore more ambitious projects and take calculated risks that might otherwise be out of reach, enabling founders to focus more of their time on experimentation, product development and finding market fit.

NVIDIA built on this theme by introducing its Inception programme, which is designed to support startups through access to technical expertise, training, networking opportunities and commercial guidance. It’s becoming increasingly clear that successful AI innovation requires more than just access to technology. Founders also need access to knowledge, partnerships and a community that can help them grow. Programmes like Inception, alongside initiatives such as AIRR and Isambard-AI, play an important role in creating this wider support ecosystem.

For me, one of the highlights of the event was hearing directly from the startups making use of this infrastructure. Their work covered a broad range of challenges, from energy optimisation and media creation to robotics, AI governance and model explainability.

We also heard from Cosine, who shared their work on Lumen, a UK-built frontier AI model designed for organisations operating in highly regulated and security-sensitive environments. Trained on Isambard-AI as part of the UK's Sovereign AI programme, the model aims to give organisations greater control over how AI systems are developed, deployed and governed.

A recurring theme throughout the day was the relationship between infrastructure and opportunity. Much of the discussion focused on the resources being made available through initiatives such as Isambard-AI, AIRR and NVIDIA Inception, but hearing from the startups helped bring that conversation to life. It provided examples of how these investments are being translated into products, research and commercial applications.

The event also reinforced the scale of ambition surrounding AI in the South West and across the UK. From government-led initiatives and national compute infrastructure to startup support programmes and frontier model development, there was a clear focus on creating the conditions needed for organisations to develop and deploy AI at scale. Additionally, there was a high level of coordination between the different stakeholders. Government, academia, industry and startups were all contributing conversations around how to make advanced AI capabilities more accessible and how to translate technical capability into economic and societal impact. As investments such as Isambard-AI continue to mature, it will be interesting to see how this translates into new companies, research breakthroughs and AI-driven products emerging from the region.

Tool for screening immune therapeutics; bench mark therapeutics in an immune check point inhibitor (Pembrolizumab) sensitive assay or ADCC

The 11^th annual Immuno-Oncology 360° Summit took place in Boston this year, a first after being held in the New York City for the past eight years. A fitting move, as Boston continues to strengthen its position as a leading biotech hub. With a packed three day agenda, IO360 brought together experts from across the immuno-oncology space, with experts working in pre-clinical to clinical research, regulatory affairs, business development and finance.

The event highlighted the next wave of innovation in IO, from new emerging cancer immunotherapy data, as well as new tools that help accelerate therapeutic development. While IO remained the central focus, pipeline diversification was also discussed, reflecting how learnings from cancer immunotherapy development can be applied to autoimmunity therapeutics.  

Highlights from the event:

Crystal Mackall winning the Lifetime Achievement award, and delivering the keynote talk ‘Evolution and Future Directions in Cell Therapy – Overcoming Challenges and Pioneering Innovations’.

William Ho – Cell therapy for Autoimmunity/Be Biopharma. While the main focus of the conference was IO, Dr Ho gave a good overview of how IO companies are diversifying their pipelines to I&I.

Craig C. Suvannavejh, PhD – The Biotech Markets and IO Outlook. Amidst all the science, this specific talk gave good insight into the current state of the biotech market, as well as future considerations.

Key takeaways:

• Many experts voiced concern for the industry, citing widespread layoffs at CDC, NIH and FDA, and raising questions about how the reduced capacity at these agencies impact new drugs getting approved and to the patients.

• At the same time, many noted a rise in investment for companies developing immuno-oncology, expressing optimism for the future. The unmet medical need remains high – not only in cancer, but also across autoimmune and other complex disease. Significant advances are being made, from discovery of novel targets and MoAs, to innovative therapeutics, and technologies that accelerate drug development timelines – all of which contribute to more investor interest and momentum in the field.

• With IO being the topic, one area where all agreed was that combination strategies are the future. With efficacy of monotherapies being a concern, the combinational approach will hopefully be key.

IO360 was a productive, insightful and energising experience. It provided us the perfect opportunity to see where the field is heading and see the transition between early stage research and clinical execution. 

A huge thank you to The Conference Forum and IO360 for organising an insightful and well-run event. We look forward to attending again next year.

At Nexus BioQuest, our scientists are experts in NK cell biology and offer a comprehensive suite of assays to test novel therapeutics. View our case study to see how NK cell driven ADCC is being developed for oncology and autoimmunity; targeting either unwanted tumour cells or autoreactive immune cells.

We recently started a new scientific initiative with the super catchy name of "speed science" which does what it says on the tin- our scientists get 10 minutes to present an immunology topic of their choice, this can be a project they are working on, a paper or a technology. This was inspired by the 3-minute thesis concept. We've found speed science provides a good work out for the brain as the presenter needs to be clear, concise and focused with their messaging. Our aim with this initiative is to challenge and improve our science communication skills, to inspire curiosity and to increase the diversity of immunology knowledge within the team; working towards our company values of curiosity and drive. We look forward to sharing some of the topics the team have enjoyed discussing over the coming weeks and in the meantime we challenge you to give it a go and test your science communication skills! Rhiannon Jenkinson, CSO

How did you celebrate International Day of Immunology? At Nexus BioQuest we celebrated our favorite immune cell. It has been fun to hear from our collaborators what their favorite immune cell is and why?

Macrophages are highly plastic and can differentiate into a range of activated phenotypes driven by external signals under various disease conditions. Therapeutic driven modulation of macrophage phenotype has the potential to modulate many different disease types where macrophage play a key role in either driving or regulating disease. We present here a range of macrophage polarisation conditions that model macrophage phenotypes found in different disease states run in 96 well or 384 well screening mode.

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