Genics has won the Translation Hero category at the InnovationAus 2023 Awards for Excellence. The InnovationAus Awards were presented on November 1, 2023, at a gala dinner at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney.
The InnovationAus Translation Hero Award focuses on research innovation leading to business success. Getting ideas out of labs and into the marketplace can be challenging, so this category of InnovationAus recognizes outstanding achievements in technological commercialization. Genics won the Translation Hero Award for Shrimp Multipath, the shrimp pathogen detection product that has set new benchmarks for accuracy and speed in the aquaculture industry.
The InnovationAus Awards celebrate groundbreaking Australian companies working to shape the future of technology. Awarding the Translation Hero Award to Genics, InnovationAus referred to the valuable contribution it has already made to the shrimp industry, mentioning one trial where Shrimp MultiPath helped to increase production output by $67,000 per hectare in terms of farm gate value. InnovationAus also referred to Shrimp MultiPath's success in Ecuador, where Genics “helped to double the egg outputs in its clients' breeding stock.”
Announcing Genics' win, InnovationAus's Stuart Mason emphasized that “at a time when the world's food production needs to jump by more than 50% to meet the needs of the growing population, Shrimp Multipath is an innovative solution to food wastage based on pioneering research that has been effectively commercialized.”
Pathogen testing that sets new industry benchmarks
Shrimp MultiPath detects common pathogens that can be devastating to shrimp farm stock. The Shrimp MultiPath panel is a game changer for farmers because it can detect fourteen pathogens in one test, rather than testing for each disease individually as other labs do.
Genics achieves industry-best turnaround times on testing results, thanks to the efficiency of the MultiPath technology. Global customers get farm-to-lab results within five days, even in overseas regions such as South America and Asia, compared to a prior industry standard of fourteen days more. Testing speed and accuracy are essential to shrimp farmers because if pathogens are not detected early, they can destroy shrimp stocks, severely diminishing product quality and profitability. By dramatically accelerating the testing process, Genics saves farmers' money and gives them earlier warning of disease threats.
Kate Razzivina took to the podium to accept the Translation Hero Award on behalf of Genics. She was presented with the trophy by CSIRO executive manager of Innovation Programs, Tennille Eyre.
“We're very proud of Genics being a global player in the food security space; it's a huge area,” Razzivina said. “We want to say a big thank you to CSIRO for all the support, and we just wanted to say congratulations to the team at Genics - everyone - and to Richard White, our well-known Australian tech entrepreneur, for supporting it.”
“Seeing our pilot farms and early adopters succeed with our Prawn MultiPath technology and achieve real production improvements was incredibly rewarding as a scientist. There is no better feeling than having developed a complex scientific system that delivers real-world commercial impact, especially when it's for something as important as global food security,” Genics CEO Mellony Sellars said in a recent interview for the CSIRO blog.
2023 continues to be an exciting year for Genics. This win at InnovationAus comes close on the heels of recent awards from the Premier of Queensland's Export Awards and Brisbane Lord Mayor's Business Awards. Genics is also an Australian Export Awards Finalist this year.
