Daniel Ramón in Biopolis. Photography by Carlos Spottorno for El País Semanal.

The NutraChampion award, within the NutraIngredients Awards 2019, recognizes Daniel Ramón, vice president of R&D in Nutrition and Health at ADM Biopolis, for his outstanding contribution to the development of food science and biotechnology. The company ADM Biopolis maintains a scientific collaboration agreement with I2SysBio, a joint center of the CSIC and the University of Valencia, for the development of research projects in the field of synthetic and systems biology.

Daniel Ramón, founder of the CSIC spin-off Biopolis, has been awarded the NutraChampion award, which awarded each year to one of the most influential personalities in the nutraceutical sector in a contest promoted by 270 industrial leaders from around the world. In a ceremony held in Geneva on May 8, biotechnologist Daniel Ramón was awarded for “embodying scientific rigor, technical expertise and commercial intelligence” in his long academic and business career. The jury of the most important awards granted by the nutraceutical industry, impressed by Daniel Ramón's notable contribution to the development of food science and biotechnology, noted that his professional career demonstrates that "research is the most powerful engine to generate solid businesses, opportunities and growth."

After receiving the award, Daniel Ramón commented: "I am very surprised to have received this award since, although throughout my career I have received various academic awards, this is the first time that I They give an industry award, which pleases me. I must also say that this award is not for me, but for the Biopolis team that works in Valencia. It is the union of the team that makes us move towards the future.” Previously he was a research professor at the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) at the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA) and professor of food technology at the University of Valencia. In 2003 he founded Biopolis, a spin-off of the CSIC that has become a leading biotechnology company. Two years ago, ninety percent of the company was acquired by the American multinational Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), one of the largest agricultural processors and suppliers of food ingredients in the world, with the CSIC retaining the remaining ten percent of the company. The institutional coordinator of the CSIC in the Valencian Community, José Pío Beltrán, has commented on the immense potential for collaboration between ADM Biopolis and the CSIC centers that research in food or other scientific-technical areas.

Through Biopolis, Daniel Ramón has developed various successful probiotics and other biological products that have been licensed or co-developed with other companies. The company ADM Biopolis maintains a scientific collaboration agreement with the Institute of Integrative Systems Biology I²SysBio, a joint center of the CSIC and the University of Valencia, for the development of strategic research projects of common interest in the field of synthetic and systems biology.