Month: November 2018

A group of Morningside Pharmaceuticals employees have helped raise money for the LOROS Hospice.

The colleagues from our warehouses and offices toured our Loughborough Distribution Centre to ask for donations as part of the charity’s Light up a Life event.

For every donation made, each employee got a star, which they wrote a special message on. These stars will then be placed on LOROS’ beautiful Christmas tree during the Light up a Life event.

Light up a Life is an annual event which provides an opportunity for people to remember or celebrate loved ones. The event, which sees 2,000 people come together to sing carols, is particularly special for Morningside because we have been the headline sponsors for the past three years.

Dr Nik Kotecha OBE, Chief Executive of Morningside Pharmaceuticals, said: “Christmas is a time of giving and receiving when families come together and enjoy one another’s company.

“But for those families who have lost loved ones, Christmas can be a difficult time, where celebration maybe replaced by loss and grief.

“Light up a Life provides people with the opportunity to honour and remember loved ones by celebrating their life at a special remembrance service.

“At Morningside, family is at the heart of our business, so it’s a privilege for us to support this event once more, as we have done for the past two years.

“Whether you’ve lost a loved one, or would just like to come along and be part of the lovely festive service – please join us at this year’s Light up a Life event.”

To find out more visit here.

Children in Need fever has descended upon Morningside Pharmaceuticals and this year we’ve gone spotty!

Yes, you heard us right, to celebrate one of the wackiest days of the year, our employees wore an assortment of spotty clothes and accessories to help raise money for charity.

Many generous co-workers also put their cooking skills to the test and created an assortment of delicious cakes and other yummy wonders for our Pudsey Bear Inspired bake-off.

In total we were delighted to raise £164 for the BBC’s flagship fundraising push, which aims to make a real difference to the lives of children all across the UK.

The Great British Entrepreneur Awards have named a Leicestershire businessman as Innovation Entrepreneur of the Year.

Dr Nik Kotecha OBE, who is Chief Executive of Loughborough-based Morningside Pharmaceuticals, won his category at the regional ceremony for the Midlands, held at the Edgbaston Stadium, Birmingham.

The annual awards acknowledge the hard work and inspiring stories of British entrepreneurs and businesses in Great Britain.

For the Innovation Entrepreneur of the Year category the judges were looking for tenacious and analytical innovators, who are creative and problem solvers by nature, with a real drive to improve their sectors and challenge the status quo.

The award was presented by Wynne Evans, famous for his performances as a tenor, in well-known insurance adverts, and entrepreneur Oli Barrett MBE.

Dr Kotecha said: “I was truly humbled to be nominated for this award alongside so many amazing entrepreneurs, who are using innovation and a pioneering approach to do great things.

“To win this award is a great honour and is very special for me, as Morningside has been built on using innovation to embrace challenges with heavy investment, including research and development and launching new niche molecules.

“The end result has led to greater choice for both pharmacists and patients, as we have developed new ways to take the medicines we manufacture. These include slow and prolonged release tablets and capsules, as well as under the tongue dissolvable tablets.

“We were also immensely proud to be the first company to launch the generic version of the contraceptive pill in the UK.

“I would like to thank my team, who are all dedicated individuals and the driving force behind Morningside’s significant growth.”

Morningside Pharmaceuticals specialises in manufacturing and supplying generic and branded pharmaceuticals to UK hospitals and pharmacies, as well as essential medicines to global aid agencies.

Speaking about what impressed the judges, Elliott Denham, from Growth Enabler, said: “Dr Kotecha’s commercial acumen, combined with his in-depth research background, has enabled both Morningside and himself to become even more charitable when experiencing growth.”

Safaraz Ali, from Pathway Group, added: “A very impressive success story with social investment alongside international expansion.”

The awards are held in five regions across the UK with the winners from each region winning through to the national final.

Nearly 300 students from Leicester and Leicestershire schools and colleges networked with 150 employers at an exciting speed networking careers event, which took place at Leicester Racecourse.

The students aged between 13 and 18, took part in the region’s largest careers event of its kind organised by the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) as part of the Leicester Business Festival, and sponsored by Morningside Pharmaceuticals.

Twenty-one schools/colleges, who are part of the LLEP’s Enterprise Adviser Network, sent pupils to the event. The morning session saw students ‘speed network’ under timed conditions with employers from many different business and public sector organisations. Morningside Pharmaceuticals, AXA PPP Healthcare, Crown Packaging, East Midlands Airport, Highcross Leicester, HORIBA MIRA, BT , NHS, Santander and Matiolli Woods were some of the companies in attendance.

Pupils spoke to different employers in bursts of six minutes before the employer moved on to the next students. In that time they asked employers about their career path, job role, the organisation they work for and the steps to employment.

Kevin Harris, Chair of the LLEP said: “We are working hard to build more engagement between schools, colleges and businesses through our work with the Careers and Enterprise Company. It is so important for young people to understand the employment opportunities available to them locally and which companies are located in Leicester and Leicestershire.

“Students don’t often get the chance to speak to so many ‘real employers’ in one morning and the event was oversubscribed with the number of schools and colleges wanting to attend. This event provides the perfect forum for them to ask questions and find out all sorts of interesting things about business and what they need to do to get on that first rung of their career ladder.”

This year’s event was sponsored by Morningside. Our Chief Executive Dr Nik Kotecha OBE, who is also a LLEP Board member, said: “I felt very privileged to be one of the employers taking part in the speed networking event. What struck me was how engaged and well prepared every young person I spoke to was.

“I was also immensely proud of our three young Morningside apprentices and a graduate who took part in a Q&A session, on stage, about their choices and experiences of the world of work. Hearing their first-hand accounts undoubtedly made a lasting impression on the students, and will help them make better informed decisions about their futures, when the time comes.

“The students who took part are the potential future workforce for our Leicestershire businesses. It was an excellent opportunity for both employers and students to connect and for the students to learn about the great career opportunities available in the many sectors represented.”

“The event has been absolutely fantastic and I will definitely be involved again next year. I would highly recommend this event to other employers to raise their profile with the workforce of the future.”

Each year the cultural Festival of Lights, Diwali, celebrates the spiritual victory of good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.

For thousands of people who work in the UK pharmacy sector, Diwali is a special occasion which brings businesses, their employees, families and friends together in celebration.

This November our employees came together to celebrate Diwali and hosted a traditional buffet lunch, which was kindly organised and served by this enthusiastic group of Morningside employees.

Dr Nik Kotecha OBE, Chief Executive of Morningside, which is based in Loughborough, said: “At Morningside we’re very proud to have a diverse workforce, who come from a wide range of cultural and religious backgrounds.

“Marking all major religious festivals is important to us, which is why we are hosting a Diwali event this year. Togetherness and kindness are two of the values that Diwali signifies and these are also important values for a modern working environment.”

“Diwali is a festival that is close to my heart and many of the values align with our business’ mission, which is ‘to make quality healthcare an affordable and accessible reality throughout the world’.

“I would like to wish everyone a prosperous Diwali that is full of joy and happiness.”

We’re proud to announce that for the third year running, we will be the headline sponsors of the LOROS Light up a Life event.

The annual event, which sees 2,000 people come together to sing carols,  takes place on December 2nd.

Light up a Life provides people with the opportunity to honour and remember loved ones by celebrating their lives at a special remembrance service.

People will get the opportunity to put stars with personal messages onto LOROS’ beautiful Christmas tree.

Their name will also be entered into a Light up a Life Book of Remembrance which will be on display in the chapel at the Hospice and will be there throughout Christmas.

If you are unable to attend the service you are most welcome to visit the Hospice to see the lights shining brightly on the tree until the first week in January.

While the service will be taking place on the Hospice grounds, outside, the Hospice will be open for those that wish to visit the chapel.

To find out more visit here.

Local businesses are being invited to take part in Leicestershire’s Largest Career’s Speed Networking event.

More than 150 employers are needed to ‘speed network’ with over 300 students from 20 schools and colleges, at the event which take place on November 9, from 9am to 2.30pm, at Leicester Racecourse, Oadby.

The event, which is part of Leicester Business Festival, is designed to enable students to network with as many businesses as possible, with each meeting with potential employers lasting just six minutes, before moving on to the next one.

Gerarde Manley, LLEP Careers Hub Manager, said: “If you’re a business owner, and entrepreneur or an industry leader, we’re offering you the chance to get involved!

“We want as many businesses as possible to take part, to give the young people who come as varied a flavour of business in Leicester and Leicestershire as possible.

“The event is arranged so that this variety shines through. A student could be talking to a chemical engineer at one station, a logistics company at the next, followed by a wholesaler of baked goods. The diversity of our local economy is something we’re very proud of at the LLEP, and Careers Speed Networking aims to put this on display.”

Dr Nik Kotecha OBE, Chief Executive of Morningside Pharmaceuticals, which is sponsoring the event, said: “The young people attending this event are at an important crossroads, on the verge of making decisions that will affect their future career paths.

“This event is also a really excellent opportunity for businesses to connect with your potential future workforce, and to show them the benefits of a career in your sector.

“For businesses, it’s a chance to give something back to the community, and to make a small investment in the future that could end up paying huge dividends.”