NEW ORLEANS – From Obatala Sciences:
Obatala Sciences has received the Minority Health Products and Services Firm of the Year Award from the U.S. Department of Commerce. This national award will be presented at this week’s National MED Week Conference by the Minority Business Development Agency in Baltimore. Dr. Trivia Frazier, co-founder, president and CEO of Obatala Sciences, will be on hand to receive the honor.
“I am both honored and humbled to accept this award on behalf of Obatala Sciences,” said Frazier. “It highlights our commitment to our mission of disrupting the method of traditional drug development and supporting research that leads to the discovery of safer, more efficacious therapies for all patients who suffer from metabolic diseases such as obesity and type II diabetes, regardless of their ethnic, socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds.”
Obatala Sciences is committed to developing products that revolutionize the current drug development process, thus improving the overall health care industry by enabling innovative therapies that improve quality of life for patients across the globe. The company has an established, robust pipeline of human-derived hydrogels for growing cells in 3-dimension, adult human stem cells from a biobank of diverse patient populations, media for growing and differentiating cells and complete tissue chip kits, such as fat-on-chip systems, which are currently available and pancreas-on-a-chip systems, which are under development. These kits provide an essential platform for drug discovery and development. When these tools are combined, Obatala Sciences’ products provide research scientists in pharmaceutical companies, biotech, academia and government laboratories with more accurate models that mimic the human condition and enable a better understanding of the pathology they are investigating.
Obatala Sciences was nominated for the national award by the New Orleans BioInnovation Center, an economic accelerator working to grow Louisiana’s biotech ecosystem and improving health care worldwide.
“Dr. Frazier and her team at Obatala Sciences stand as inspiring pillars in the minority business community,” says Kris Khalil, NOBIC executive director. “Their extraordinary accomplishments, now nationally recognized, resonate as a beacon of excellence emanating from the heart of New Orleans. Their journey illustrates the impactful strides and transformative work being nurtured within our vibrant bio community.”
The U.S. Department of Commerce, MBDA National MED Week Awards are the highest level of national recognition that a U.S. minority owned firm can receive from the Department of Commerce. These prestigious awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of minority entrepreneurs, as well as the individuals and organizations that have demonstrated their commitment to advancing minority business enterprises.
“The National MED Week Awards serve as a testament to the local business community’s invaluable impact on our economy and communities,” wrote Donald R. Cravins. Jr., under secretary of commerce for MBDA. “Your dedication, innovation and resilience embody the spirit of entrepreneurship that that’s the nation forward.”
