Anna Maxwell Wins Innovation Entrepreneur Accolade

Alderley Park, UK – November 18 2025 – Anna Maxwell, inspirational founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the pioneering healthcare company, Maxwellia, was named Innovation Entrepreneur of the Year, North West, at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards last night (17/11/25).

Anna's mission to make effective medicines more widely available was celebrated at the prestigious ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel.

Anna Maxwell, a self-care visionary and pharmacist with more than 30 years’ experience in the OTC industry, is transforming healthcare by leveraging the UK’s rich back-catalogue of prescription (Rx) medicines and ‘switching’ them to launch as over-the-counter brands.

Maxwellia’s impressive, and growing portfolio of OTC medicines includes the daily contraceptive Lovima®, the emergency contraceptive LoviOne®, Evana®, for heavy menstrual bleeding and Ultravana®, for the relief of period pain.

Anna Maxwell notes: “Initially, our focus has been on female health as this sector presented so many opportunities to make a real difference to women’s lives.

“But our wider mission is to reshape access to medicines by identifying neglected, yet high-value markets, not only in women's health but also other consumer healthcare market sectors such as pain.

“Self-care is embedded in the 10 Year Health Plan for the NHS and improving access to existing medicines will be an incredibly important part of this shift in the way we provide healthcare.

“That’s why I am such a passionate advocate for the switching process. We take proven prescription medicines which have a robust safety profile and navigate the labyrinth of regulations and classifications to enable consumers to access via high street pharmacies. Increasing self-care options in this way takes a huge amount of pressure off the NHS.”

It has also proved to be a recipe for success. Maxwellia is building a portfolio of blockbuster brands that are now stocked in more than 3,000 pharmacies including Boots, Superdrug, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons.

Maxwellia has commercialised six products, with Naprosyn® Pain Relief being the most recent brand launch; a powerful pain treatment containing naproxen, which delivers up to 12 hours relief from acute muscle and joint pain – and taps into a market with revenues in excess of one billion pounds.

Maxwellia, which is based at Alderley Park Life Sciences hub in Cheshire, was born out of Anna’s desire to drive innovation and disrupt the stagnating over-the-counter medicines sector, whilst propelling the future of self-care.

As a former OTC buyer for Boots, Anna recognised the enormous potential of switching prescription medicines to over-the-counter brands. In 2013 she wrote the book on this process — Switch Dynamics” A Practical Approach to Switching Medicines for Self-Care – and founded Maxwellia.

As the Innovation Entrepreneur of the Year accolade recognises, Anna and Maxwellia are now leading the way with smarter switching and reclassifying prescription medicines for pharmacy or general sale, helping to empower people to look after themselves.

Ends

Product Information

Lovima® 75 microgram film-coated tablets is an oral contraceptive containing desogestrel.
LoviOne® 1.5mg tablet. Levonorgestrel. Emergency contraception.
Evana® Heavy Period Relief 500 mg tablets. Tranexamic acid. For the treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding.
Ultravana® Period Pain Relief 250 mg Gastro-resistant tablets. Naproxen. For the treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea.
Naprosyn® Pain Relief 250 mg gastro-resistant tablets. Naproxen. For the relief of short-term muscle and joint pain.

Always read the label.