SynbiCITE Partner and Lean Launchpad graduate CustoMem has won the top prize of £10,000 in the 2016 Althea-Imperial Prize for women entrepreneurs. CustoMem won the prize for its pioneering use of synthetic biology to create membranes that capture pollutants such as heavy metals from industrial wastewater.

Speaking about the technology, CustoMem Co-founder Gabriella Santosa said: "These heavy metals can be harmful to the environment and to human health, and if they’re not removed they can end up in our water or food supply. Our technology allows us to recycle the metals we’re capturing so that they can be put to useful purposes – for instance as catalysts or to help produce cancer drugs.”

SynbiCITE is proud to support young entrepreneurs utilising Synthetic Biology in innovative and exciting new ways, and is glad to see CustoMem's ingenuity recognised by Imperial College and the Althea Foundation.