Image: Christ Church Picture Gallery, Oxford
Christ Church Picture Gallery has highlighted news that alumnus Declan Pang has reached the final stage of the Evening Standard x AXA Startup Angel competition with his company Dermalere. The gallery’s social post described Pang as a “doctor by day” and urged supporters to back one of its own in a public vote that remains open until early September.
The competition, run by AXA Business Insurance in partnership with The Standard, is looking for standout new business ideas and has already narrowed hundreds of entries down to a finalist group. According to The Standard’s competition page, the finalists were selected in July by a judging panel known as the AXA Startup Angels, alongside a public vote for one of the runners-up prizes.
That judging panel includes Henry Firth and Ian Theasby, co-founders of the plant-based food brand BOSH!, Raphael Sofoluke, founder and CEO of UK Black Business Week and the UK Black Business Show, and Izzy Obeng, founder and CEO of Foundervine, who joined as the newest judge this year. AXA Business Insurance head of marketing Julie White is also listed on the panel.
The public vote offers readers a say in which business receives one of the competition’s runners-up prizes. The Standard says the prize package includes media coverage, mentoring and exposure, with each runner-up set to receive a profile in the newspaper and mentoring from The Standard team worth more than £18,000.
Voting for the AXA Startup Angel People’s Choice Award is due to end at 23.59 on Wednesday 2 September 2026, according to The Standard. The competition page says the shortlist was drawn from hundreds of entries submitted by aspiring entrepreneurs.
Christ Church Picture Gallery, part of Christ Church in Oxford, shared the update with a short celebratory message for Pang and linked to the public vote. Its post did not give further details about Dermalere, and the competition listing available with the announcement does not add biographical information beyond Pang’s status as a finalist in the 2026 award.
