Singapore: Clearbridge BioMedics has won the 2012 Asian Entrepreneurship Awards, which was held from May 9-11, 2012, in Kashiwanoha, Chiba Prefecture, in Japan. A total of 18 start-up companies, from 12 Asian countries presented their business plans at this inaugural business competition.

Clearbridge BioMedics impressed the judges with its ClearCell System. This is a cell-based invitro diagnostic device that can isolate and retrieve intact and viable circulating tumour cells from blood. Clearbridge BioMedics, which was the only Singaporean company to participate, took home the ¥3 million (approximately Singapore $47,000) prize money along with three years of free tenancy at the Tokatsu Techno Plaza in Chiba Prefecture. Clearbridge BioMedics is a spin-off company from the Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore (NUS).

"We are delighted and honoured to win the inaugural Asian Entrepreneurship Awards. Participating in this event was a great experience for us. We were able to network and present to an audience, including venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and potential partners. Japan is a very important market for us, winning this award will be a launch pad for us to bring the technology there." said Dr Andrew Wu, project director, Clearbridge BioMedics.

A total of 18 technology start-up companies were nominated to take part in the Asian Entrepreneurship Awards from countries throughout Asia. The majority of these companies came from business incubators or consisted of university spin-offs. The judging panel, which included Mr Masaru Murai, who was chairman of the judging committee and the is president of TX Entrepreneur Partners, looked for the start-up companies' innovativeness and the businesses' economic and social impact, as well as the companies' ability to implement their business strategies.

Professor Wong Poh Kam, from the NUS Entrepreneurship Center was the Singapore representative on the nominating committee, which also had representatives from China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.