Alumnus Adnan Iqbal wins British Council award for Business and Innovation

Adnan is the Co-founder and CEO of Luma Health, a health technology company.  The company has raised over $160M in capital to develop its healthcare consumer platform, which brings together clinical, financial and operational information with the aim of making it easier for patients to access healthcare. 

Adnan Iqbal said: ‘I am delighted to receive this award for Business and Innovation. At Luma, our focus is on innovating with purpose, developing the technology to solve the biggest challenge in healthcare - getting patients to the right provider and the best healthcare outcome quickly. 

‘We found that a typical patient is facing a wait of between two and twelve weeks to access care but, at the same time, healthcare delivery organisations typically see 15 to 30% unused capacity on any given day – people needing care are waiting, and yet there are unfilled appointments every day.’ 

Luma current employs over 200 people, with operations across the United States. The company is currently expanding into the UK and Canada. Its UK efforts are a joint initiative with the company InHealth – InHealth Ventures, whose investors include Cambridge alumni, was one of the first funds to back Luma. 

Having completed an undergraduate degree in Environmental Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, Adnan arrived at Sidney in 2007, to study for an MPhil in BioScience. He received a Cambridge Overseas Trust Scholarship in 2007 and the Parry Dutton Scholarship in 2008. 

A member of Sidney Sussex Boat Club, Adnan also played an active role in Cambridge University Entrepreneurs (CUE) and the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (CfEL). 

Adnan with his parents, at graduation.

Adnan Iqbal said: “My time studying in the UK was the perfect combination of a truly immersive global experience, combined with in-depth data-driven analysis, all while holding space for creativity and risk-seeking to kick-off and sustain a successful entrepreneurial journey." 

‘The CUE business creation competition sparked my interest in launching my own venture – during my year in Cambridge I co-founded AutoTB, a medical device to effectively diagnose tuberculosis in developing countries. AutoTB had a phenomenal ascent, winning the CUE (2008) and the UC Berkeley Business Plan (2009) competitions. Ultimately, we realised that a mobile phone-based technology would have the greatest impact, so we shared our IP with a mobile-first diagnostics company.  

‘My time studying at Cambridge not only helped catalyse my first venture, but equipped me with the clear focus to build a healthcare company of impact and consequence.‘ 

Adnan and his family on a visit to Sidney in November 2023.

In a message shared with Adnan at the awards ceremony, the Master, Professor Martin Burton congratulated the entrepreneur on his ‘impressive achievement’: ‘I am so pleased that Sidney Sussex was able to contribute to your entrepreneurial journey.  We pride ourselves on welcoming the very brightest students from a global pool of talent.   When we send them out into the wider world we always hope that we will be able to celebrate their successes with them. It is wonderful to be able to do so.’ 

Having completed his MPhil, Adnan returned to the United States, completing an MS/MBA in General Management, Global Leadership and Innovation at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Before co-founding Luma in 2015, he worked for Deloitte Consulting and the biotechnology company Genentech. 

The British Council Study UK Alumni Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements and impact of the alumni of UK higher education institutions. Awards are presented in four categories: Science and Sustainability, Culture and Creativity, Social Action and Business and Innovation. Applicants to the USA Alumni Awards are also entered into the global awards. The global winners will be announced in September 2024.