The award is the highest level of national recognition that a minority business enterprise can receive.
NEW ORLEANS (Oct. 16, 2023) – Obatala Sciences announced today it 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 the National MED Week Conference by the Minority Business Development in Baltimore, Maryland. 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,” Dr. Frazier stated. “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 healthcare 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 (NOBIC), an economic accelerator working to grow Louisiana’s biotech ecosystem and improving healthcare worldwide.
“Dr. Frazier and her team at Obatala Sciences are a role model to the minority business community,” says Kris Khalil, executive director, NOBIC. “We are thrilled to see them earn this national recognition and be a representative of the great work that is being led here in the New Orleans BioDistrict.”
The U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency (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 minority business community’s invaluable impact on our economy and communities,” wrote Donald R. Cravins. Jr., Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development. “You dedication, innovation and resilience embodies the spirit of entrepreneurship that that’s the nation forward.”
To learn more about Obatala Sciences visit their website here. For more information on NOBIC, please visit here.
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About Obatala Sciences: Founded in 2017 with the goal of advancing research in the fields of obesity, diabetes, and regenerative medicine, Obatala Sciences is a biotechnology company that offers research products and services to scientists in medical industries and academia. Obatala prides itself in making high-quality products that researchers use to discover better therapies for diseases that significantly impact the human population. Obatala is named for the West African deity tasked with sculpting the human body. Co-founded and run by an African-American female from New Orleans, Obatala Sciences is committed to creating more accurate models of human tissue, starting with their building blocks: the cells. For more information, please visit ObatalaSciences.com.
About New Orleans BioInnovation Center: The New Orleans BioInnovation Center (“NOBIC”) is a nonprofit business incubator focused on advancing life science entrepreneurship and technology commercialization in Louisiana. The mission of NOBIC is to create a successful biotech ecosystem by providing emerging companies with customized commercialization services, premier facilities and a comprehensive support network. Through relationships with research institutions, economic development organizations and industry stakeholders, NOBIC helps its clients de-risk novel technologies, attract funding and improve global health outcomes. For more information, visit neworleansbio.com.