Professor Ed Gane
New Zealand Innovator of the Year
2017
Spark
New Zealand Innovator of the Year
Te Pou Whakairo o te Tau
Professor Ed Gane
Professor Ed Gane′s dedicated and innovative work has contributed to the development of a cure for Hepatitis C, a life threatening disease that currently affects over 50,000 New Zealanders as well as many millions of people worldwide.
Hepatitis C is a devastating liver disease that affects four times as many people globally (150-170 million) as HIV/AIDS (37 million).
Hepatitis C is a blood-to-blood infection spread by such things as transfusions, unsterilised needles and tattoos. The Hepatitis C virus attacks the liver over several years causing cirrhosis and liver cancer and is now the leading cause of liver deaths and liver transplantation in New Zealand. There is no vaccine and up until recently there has been no safe or effective treatment
Professor Gane believed a combination of new oral anti-virals held the key to successful treatment.
For a number of years, Professor Gane supervised meticulous drug trials on Kiwi volunteers with chronic hepatitis C. He trialled various combinations of different anti- virals until he finally got the results he was looking for.
Thanks to Professor Gane and his international colleagues′ innovative work and perseverance, almost everyone with hepatitis C can now be cured with a short course of tablets. The World Health Organisation recently announced that more than one million people have already been cured with these new drugs and that global eradication of hepatitis C should now be achievable within the next 30 years.
This outstanding advance in treatment of hepatitis C will have a future global impact at a similar scale that the Polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk has had since 1955.
These game changers in their field have used their insight and their passion to make a significant impact. In the spirit of Kiwi inventiveness and resourcefulness, they have created a better future for Aotearoa.
Nominees of this Award must:
- Be an individual who conceptualised and developed an innovation involving a product, service, technology, idea/theory or process across any industry sector including (but not limited to) health, science, technology, robotics, business, education, environmental, sustainability, agriculture, disadvantaged communities, and non-profits.
- Have had significant impact over the last 12 months.
- Be a role model for New Zealanders and highlight a brighter future for New Zealanders.
- Meet Awards Conditions of Entry.
Judges will review each nominee using the following criteria:
- 10 points: INNOVATION:
Describe the innovation of your nominee and the thoughtful, creative, and innovative approach it takes to resolve a challenge. - 10 points: NEED:
What problem does the innovation solve? And how is it unique to the market? - 10 points: COMMITMENT:
Describe the commitment of time, risks, and challenges overcome to develop the innovation to this point (this may still be ongoing). - 10 points: PROVEN-IMPACT:
How has the innovation clearly demonstrated a positive impact on the targeted community (particularly over the last 12-months)? How has this been measured? - 10 points: POTENTIAL:
Describe the opportunity the innovation has to generate economic, social, and/or environmental benefits for a local industry sector, the nation, and or globally. - 10 points: LONG-TERM IMPACT:
How is the nominee planning to enhance, grow, and/or adapt the innovation in the future to best meet the changing needs of the targeted population? How would winning this award impact this person and the work that they are doing?
Previous
winners
