The NutraChampion award, within the NutraIngredients Awards 2019, recognizes Daniel Ramón, Vice President of R&D in Health and Wellness at ADM Biopolis, for his outstanding contribution to the development of food science and biotechnology. ADM Biopolis has a scientific collaboration agreement with I2SysBio, a joint centre of CSIC and the University of Valencia, for the development of research projects in the field of synthetic and systems biology.
Daniel Ramón, founder of Biopolis, a CSIC spin-off, has been awarded the NutraChampion prize, which is given every year to one of the most influential personalities in the nutraceutical sector in a competition promoted by 270 industrial leaders from all over the world. In a ceremony held in Geneva on 8 May, biotechnologist Daniel Ramón was awarded for embodying “scientific rigour, technical expertise and commercial savvy" in his long academic and business career. The jury of the most important prizes awarded by the nutraceutical industry, impressed by Daniel Ramón's remarkable contribution to the development of food science and biotechnology, pointed out that his professional career shows that "research is the most powerful motor to create solid businesses, opportunities and growth".
After receiving the award, Daniel Ramón commented: "I am very surprised to have received this award because, although throughout my career I have received several academic awards, this is the first time I have received an industry award, which satisfies me pleasantly. I must also say that this award is not for me, but for the Biopolis team working in Valencia. It is the union of the team that makes us advance towards the future".
Daniel Ramón is currently vice-president of R&D in Health and Wellness at ADM Biopolis, a company located in the Science Park of the University of Valencia. Previously he was Research Professor at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) at the Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos (IATA) and Full Professor of food technology at the University of Valencia. In 2003 he founded Biopolis, a CSIC spin-off that has become a leading biotechnology company. Two years ago, ninety percent of the company was acquired by the American multinational Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), one of the largest agricultural processors and suppliers of food ingredients in the world, holding CSIC the remaining ten percent of the company. The institutional coordinator of the CSIC in the Valencian Community, José Pío Beltrán, has commented on the immense potential for collaboration between ADM Biopolis and the CSIC centres in food science or other technological areas.
In Biopolis, Daniel Ramón has developed several successful probiotics and other biological products that have been licensed or co-developed with other companies. ADM Biopolis has a scientific collaboration agreement with the Institute for Integrative Systems Biology I2SysBio, a joint centre of CSIC and the University of Valencia, for the development of strategic research projects of common interest in the field of synthetic and systems biology.
