Mesynthes supreme winner at Wellington Gold Awards

KENT BLECHYNDEN/ The Dominion Post

ON A HIGH: Winners, from left, Barnaby May, Brian Ward and Nancy Yopp from Mesynthes.

Mesynthes, the Lower Hutt company that developed an organic tissue substitute for people with burns or severe skin injuries, was last night named the supreme winner of the Wellington Gold Awards.

At a gala evening at the TSB Bank Arena, the company also took out the discovering gold award for the best research and development project for Endoform, a hi-tech, strong, shelf-stable tissue substitute.

Mesynthes was formed three years ago by veterinarian Brian Ward, who spotted shortcomings in the tissue-substitute market in the 1990s.

In collaboration with scientists from Otago University and crown research institute Industrial Research, the Mesynthes chief executive refined a product that not only replaces the patient's tissue but encourages the patient's cells to grow there and replace it.

Endoform uses tissue from sheep and strips it of its immunological components like cells and cell walls, leaving the regenerative material behind.

Stripping the material down reduced many of the immunological issues of using materials between species.

Its first product gained the crucial approval in January of the US Food and Drug Administration, the world's most lucrative medical market, where it expects to launch commercially this year.

The Gold Awards, Wellington's premier business awards, saw 10 companies and government agencies recognised for business excellence, while an iconic figure of Wellington business was also recognised.

Lloyd Morrison, the investment banker who founded Morrison & Co, best known as the manager of infrastructure giant Infratil, was recognised in the Dominion Post tribute to an icon.

Infratil's assets range from airports and buses to petrol stations. Mr Morrison's contribution to business saw him made a companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year honours in 2009.

In the other awards, Wellington design agency Designworks won the creative gold award, and Aptimize took out the cyber gold award for its revolutionary software that speeds up websites by up to 50 per cent.

Tuatara Brewing, which produces New Zealand's most widely distributed craft beer, won the emerging gold award, while the global gold award for exporters and service companies was won by Macaulay Metals, New Zealand's largest privately owned scrap metal recycler.

Creative HQ, the business incubator assisting the next generation of Wellington businesses and leaders, won the supporting gold award, while the luxury rural getaway, Boomrock Lodge, won vibrant gold.

Dulux New Zealand won the ACC workplace safety award for demonstrating ongoing and proactive commitment with a zero tolerance for injury, and Celcius Coffee, a boutique family-owned coffee company, took the green gold award for positive and sustainable business practices.

Landcorp Farming, one of New Zealand's largest agribusinesses, won the team gold award for investment in people and human resources programmes.

- © Fairfax NZ News