For over 20 years, Scrip has been the pre-eminent Awards for the biopharma industry. To build on this legacy we are introducing for 2026 the exciting new ‘Best Use of AI in Drug Development’ category, recognizing outstanding use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve drug development in an ever-changing industry.
Editor’s Choice Awards – For these categories, the finalists will be handpicked by our esteemed editorial and analyst teams to highlight the outstanding and innovative contenders whose achievements in the qualifying year demand their place on the shortlist.
Open Awards – Open, as always, for submissions from those who know that their achievements deserve wider recognition among their industry peers.
Entry deadline: Friday, 10 July 2026
Ceremony: Wednesday, 2 December 2026
Location: Raffles London at The OWO
Shortlist Announced: End of September
All of these Awards categories will be judged by our panel of highly esteemed independent judges.
The shortlist for the Editor’s Choice Awards will be chosen by the team at Scrip based on the published criteria using metrics taken from the Norstella suite of databases plus input from our internal network of analysts and subject matter experts.
For these categories, the successful nominees identified as being the very best fit for each of these categories will be invited to enter the Awards with their place on the shortlist already assured.
For the remaining categories, entries will remain open to all who wish to enter.
In keeping with previous years, there will be no published shortlist for the Pharma Company of the Year and the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Open Awards – Open, as always, for submissions from those who know that their achievements deserve wider recognition among their industry peers.
Editor’s Choice Awards – Handpicked by our esteemed editorial and analyst teams to highlight the outstanding and innovative contenders whose achievements in the qualifying year demand their place on the shortlist. The nominations for the Editor’s Choice Awards will be handpicked by our Scrip editorial team, however if you believe your entry deserves consideration by the team, please feel free to submit an entry in the usual way.
Click here to see our full entry guide for more information.
The Best New Drug Award recognizes excellence in pharmaceutical development. Launching innovative new products is the most important function of the industry, and a successful new drug launch marks the culmination of years of risky and expensive R&D. In this category, the judges will be looking for the small-molecule or biological product that was approved in its first market worldwide during the qualifying period that represents the best therapeutic advance in its area.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE
All recently launched new active substances, including small molecules, biologicals or vaccines, are eligible to enter so long as they were first licensed in any market between 1 July 2025 – 30 June 2026. Generic and biosimilar products are not eligible for this Award.
Entrants must have played a role in the development of the nominated product, and all parties to joint ventures should be disclosed in the application.
This Award seeks to recognize success in a clinical trial of a new drug product (biological or chemical) that is expected to lead to an advance in healthcare. This might include the first demonstration of a clear clinical effect for a new drug in an area of unmet medical need, a pivotal study of a new drug with a breakthrough mechanism of action, or a major study of a potential new or expanded indication for an already marketed product. The product involved need not yet be approved, but the judges will be looking for innovation, clear proof of benefit and potential commercial reward. To be eligible, the study in question must have been presented for peer review at a major medical meeting or been published in a scientific journal between 1 July 2025 – 30 June 2026.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE
To be eligible, the study in question must have been presented for peer review at a major medical meeting or been published in a scientific journal between 1 July 2025 – 30 June 2026.
Entrants must have played a role in the clinical study, and all joint parties must be disclosed in the application.
Deals are vital both in helping to keep pharma’s pipelines replenished and in generating income for smaller firms or exits for investors. Deals considered here are those that involve the licensing of a particular drug, project or group of closely related drugs/projects from one company to another for further development and/or marketing, or M&A deals centred around a product or group of related products. Please note, it does not include more involved partnerships between companies to explore particular therapeutic strategies (see Criteria for the Best Partnership Alliance)
WHO IS ELIGIBLE
To qualify, licensing deals must have been closed between 1 July 2025 – 30 June 2026.
Scrip’s Best Partnership Alliance Award recognizes the importance of pharmaceutical and/or biotech companies working together to develop new medicines from the earliest stages. This category seeks to reward innovative partnerships between companies in which they share the risks and rewards inherent in exploring novel therapeutic strategies and developing new drugs.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE
The judges will be focusing on deals that require strong strategic input from both partners, involving R&D, business development or joint marketing/promotion. They are looking for those deals that are the most mutually beneficial, have the most strategic potential, and are innovative in their structure. Partnerships must have been announced, or have achieved a significant milestone, between 1 July 2025 – 30 June 2026, and entrants should be able to show some benefits arising from the deal.
Please note, this Award does not cover the licensing of a particular drug, project or group of closely related drugs/projects from one company to another for further development and/or marketing (see Criteria for Licensing Deal of the Year).
The biotech industry’s entrepreneurial spirit and cutting-edge science have transformed the research and development of medicines in the past few decades. This Award honours outstanding achievement by biotech companies over the qualifying 12 months.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE
The winner of the Biotech Company of the Year Award will be the biotech firm that has achieved the most in the 12 months between 1 July 2025 – 30 June 2026.
The Awards for the Best Contract Research Organization acknowledge the critical role that CROs play in drug development. Clinical outsourcing is vital as the pharmaceutical industry seeks to benefit more and more from these specialist companies’ experience in handling all aspects of clinical trials. The Awards for CROs are split into two sister categories to separate the larger full-service providers from those smaller CROs that provide specialist services to their clients.
WHO CAN ENTER
This Award is for the companies who provide the full range of clinical research services and they will be judged on the quality of these services and relationships the firms have built with their clients. It will pay particular attention to the innovative patient recruitment strategies the CRO has brought to the deal. To qualify, candidates must draw on their achievements in the year between 1 July 2025 – 30 June 2026.
The Awards for the Best Contract Research Organization acknowledge the critical role that CROs play in drug development. Clinical outsourcing is vital as the pharmaceutical industry seeks to benefit more and more from these specialist companies’ experience in handling all aspects of clinical trials. The Awards for CROs are split into two sister categories to separate the larger full-service providers from those smaller CROs that provide specialist services to their clients.
WHO CAN ENTER
This Award for those companies who provide niche services to their clients will be judged on the quality of these services and relationships they have built with their clients. To qualify, candidates must draw on their achievements in the year between 1 July 2025 – 30 June 2026.
This new Scrip Award seeks to recognize early clinical advances in oncology made by small biopharma companies. The great strides seen in cancer therapies in recent years often had their genesis in the labs of specialist firms. We are looking to reward companies that are exploiting new knowledge in cancer cell biology and the tumor microenvironment to forge new paths to tackle the disease, for instance by developing novel therapeutic strategies in immuno-oncology, gene and cell therapies and new targeted agents.
This category is aimed at clinical-stage oncology firms pioneering new approaches in the treatment of cancer that have shown proof of concept in early (Phase I or II) clinical trials and have candidates moving forward in the development pathway.
WHO CAN ENTER
To be eligible, results for the study or program under nomination must have been released between 1 July 2025 – 30 June 2026. Entrants must have played a role in the early phase research, and all joint parties must be disclosed in the application.
Scrip’s Business Development Team of the Year Award will honor the achievements of business development teams whether they are from a pharma or biotech company or a cross-company team responsible for a specific deal or collaborative project which took place between 1 July 2025 – 30 June 2026.
WHO CAN ENTER
This Award will go to a team that is truly much more than the sum of its parts. The Judges will be looking for strong performance across a number of criteria, such as achievement of short- and long-term goals, and good communication of a shared vision.
This Award is designed to acknowledge the numerous ways in which pharma and biotech companies give back to the wider community. This could include outreach within a local community, with a charity or patient advocacy group, or alongside an NGO or humanitarian organization.
WHO CAN ENTER
The judges will be looking for effective partnership activity, which took place between 1 July 2025 – 30 June 2026, to the benefit of humankind. For example, these types of partnerships could include patient and carer support programs, educational programs or disease awareness campaigns or even a social media campaign that went viral.
This award recognizes a pharmaceutical or biotech company that has made outstanding use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve drug development, either by itself or in partnership with a technology provider.
The judges will be looking for real-world impact: AI that has materially improved decision-making, efficiency, speed or quality from discovery and preclinical research through to clinical development. This would not include use of AI in internal workflow productivity with no bearing on drug development decision making.
This new category is open to pharma and biotech companies and can include projects conducted in collaboration with CROs/CDMOs, technology providers, and academia.
The AI application must have been actively used during the qualifying period (not purely conceptual or early proof-of-concept) and entries can relate to a single program, platform, tool, or partnership, but must be grounded in drug development rather than general business operations.
QUESTIONS
The Pharma Company of the Year Award honors outstanding achievements by pharmaceutical companies over the qualifying 12 months between 1 July 2025 – 30 June 2026.
This special Award is chosen by Scrip’s senior editorial team, based on a variety of key metrics. The winner will be announced on the night of the Scrip Awards.
The winner of this Award will be an exceptional individual with a consistent history of service, above and beyond the call of duty, throughout their career. This prestigious international Award will go to someone who has had a distinguished career in the biotech or pharmaceutical arena, primarily within industry.
WHO CAN ENTER
Nominees may be retired or semi-retired but will still be active in the industry in some capacity. For this special Award, candidates must be nominated by a third party.
ICON plc is a world-leading clinical research organisation. Offering deep operational and medical expertise we accelerate innovation, driving emerging therapies forward to improve patient outcomes. From molecule to medicine, we deliver integrated consulting, clinical development, commercialisation and post-marketing solutions to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, government and public health organisations worldwide. With headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, ICON employed approximately 40,100 employees in 97 locations in 55 countries as of December 31, 2025. For further information about ICON, visit: www.iconplc.com.
The Scrip Awards are a highlight in my annual calendar, bringing together an incredible calibre of people from across pharma and biotech.
Sponsoring the awards provides ICON with a high-profile presence, creating brand visibility, and supporting connections and conversation with a senior clinical development community focused driving medical progress and innovation.
Our industry matters to human health and saving lives. These awards matter to the industry.
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