A drug delivery device developer and manufacturer secured the EDP Business Award in the Top100 Accelerator category.

King's Lynn-based Bespak achieved increased sales of more than £121m in the last financial year following new contracts with AstraZeneca and a global biopharmaceuticals giant, as well as the launch of its second injectable device in the UK and other European markets.

The firm, which employs 950 between sites in Norfolk, Cambridge and Lancashire, moulds 2.6 billion components and produces 550 million devices annually.

It has 15 major device programmes in the pipeline, with research and development spending totalling £6m in the last financial year.

The nature of Bespak's product range – devices for administering drugs through respiration or injection – requires 'the highest standards of reliability and performance', the judges said.

'Achieving these objectives underpins the management ethos of the company. Staff engagement, on-going training and career progression strengthen the company's culture and are evidence by a high level of staff loyalty.'

The coming months will see Bespak work with major pharmaceutical firms to develop new dry powder inhaler technologies.

For operations director Kevin Cunningham, the company's dedication to a longer-term vision is crucial to its success.

He said: 'The sort of projects we are involved in mean investing now for the long term. Many need to run for 15 or 20 years so we are playing for the long term benefit.

'Most of the work we do now we may not see the end of, so it is about working for the future and our future customers.

'Once products are on the market we have to ensure sustainability and reliability, so we have to ensure the products for generations beyond us.

'The concept that we are building something for the future is quite humbling.'

Sponsored by Top100 supporters PwC, Mills and Reeve, and Roche, the Top100 Accelerator award is drawn exclusively from the EDP/EADT list of Norfolk and Suffolk's biggest companies by turnover.

It commends a successful business which demonstrates how it has adapted to meet the challenges of its markets and to seek out new opportunities.