Northern Irish biotech company takes top honours after presenting its first-in-class metabolic disease therapeutic to an international panel of investors and innovation leaders.
15th September 2026
Dia Beta Labs Ltd (DBL) has been named the overall winner of the AIMS Summit 2026 Shark Tank competition, held at IDA Ireland in Dublin on 26 August.
DBL was one of six healthcare companies, comprising medtech and biotech approaches, selected to enter the closed-room competition. Co-Founder and CEO, Dr Ryan Lafferty, presented the company’s next-generation peptide therapeutics for improved management of type 2 diabetes and obesity to an expert panel comprised of representatives from Zoi Capital, Enterprise Ireland, DCU Innovate, UNC Health Ventures and BioInnovate Ireland.
The competition challenged participating companies on the clinical relevance, commercial potential and scalability of their innovations. DBL’s winning pitch highlighted its differentiated, non-incretin approach to tackling metabolic disease and the progress being made towards clinical development.
Pictured: DBL CEO, Dr. Ryan Lafferty, presenting to the judges at the Shark Tank Session at IDA HQ, Dublin
“Winning the AIMS Shark Tank is a fantastic endorsement of both the science behind Dia Beta Labs and the scale of the opportunity in metabolic disease,” said Dr Lafferty.
“The panel’s questions were rigorous and constructive, and the extremely high quality of the other companies made the result especially meaningful. We are grateful to AIMS, IDA Ireland and RCSI for creating a forum that connects credible innovation with the clinical, commercial and investment expertise needed to help bring it to patients.”
The winner was announced the following day at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland as part of the wider AIMS Summit. The two-day event brought together clinicians, investors, academics, entrepreneurs and healthcare leaders from Ireland, the United States and beyond, including a dedicated session examining the rapidly evolving management of obesity.
Pictured: DBL CEO, Ryan Lafferty was announced as winner on Day 2 of the event by Brian Beeler of Zoi Capital
The recognition comes as DBL advances its lead programme through IND-enabling toxicology. The company is developing novel peptide therapeutics intended to deliver more sustainable, high-quality weight loss while addressing the progressive decline in pancreatic beta-cell health associated with severe type 2 diabetes.
DBL extends its thanks to the AIMS Summit organisers, judging panel, event partners and fellow finalists.
About Dia Beta Labs
Dia Beta Labs is a UK-based biotechnology company headquartered in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. A spin-out from Ulster University, DBL builds on more than 30 years of translational research to develop novel therapeutics for obesity, diabetes and related metabolic diseases.
Learn more at diabetalabs.com.
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