The “European Prize for Women Innovators,” which recognizes women leaders who make a difference through their research and transform the power of innovation into societal impact, was organized for the 2023–2024 term by the European Innovation Council (EIC) of the European Union (EU) in collaboration with the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). In the most prestigious category of the program, “Women Innovators,” the grand prize was awarded to Prof. Dr. Rana Sanyal, Faculty Member of the Department of Chemistry at Boğaziçi University and Co-Founder of RS Research.

The awards were announced during the award ceremony held on March 18 at the EIC 2024 Summit, as part of the Research and Innovation Week (R&I Week).

“AWARDS ENCOURAGE YOUNG SCIENTISTS”

Expressing that receiving this award is a source of great pride, Prof. Dr. Rana Sanyal emphasized the importance of such awards in increasing the motivation of young scientists and said:

“Receiving an EU-wide award for the success of our research conducted in our country is a great honor for me. These awards help spread success stories that will inspire today’s young scientists. The more we support and empower our role models, the more we can increase young people’s motivation to make a global impact through innovation and deep technology. It is therefore very important that the contribution of women behind innovations that add value to people’s lives is recognized and rewarded. I am very happy both on my own behalf and on behalf of my entire team, whose efforts made this success possible.”

With the goal of bringing laboratory-based research to the clinical phase and ultimately to people, Prof. Dr. Rana Sanyal co-founded the biotechnology initiative RS Research with her partner Sena Nomak. The company develops smart drugs that enable targeted chemotherapy in the field of oncology.

RS Research discovers drug candidates that can enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy while reducing its side effects through its proprietary drug delivery technology. The company leverages its collaboration with the Boğaziçi University Center for Life Sciences and Technologies for early-stage studies of the drug candidates in its portfolio.

Benefiting from the office infrastructure of Boğaziçi Teknopark and completing its production infrastructure at its facility in Teknopark Istanbul, RS Research has developed the first novel drug candidate in Turkey whose development steps were undertaken domestically and which has entered Phase 1 clinical trials. The Phase 1 clinical trials of the first candidate drug based on the patented targeted delivery technology are ongoing in Istanbul and Ankara.