February 13, 2008

Eight business plans advance in life sciences competition

Don Blewitt
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Biotechnology, life sciences, and pharmaceutical firms in six states have advanced to the final round of the fifth annual Life Sciences Business Plan Competition conducted by the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship at Purdue University.

Purdue's life sciences business plan competition concludes Feb. 28 with formal presentations by eight finalists. Judging will be done by a select panel of venture capitalists, scientists, attorneys, accountants and academics. A total of $174,000 in cash and business services will be awarded to winners, who will be announced at a banquet in the evening following the competition on Feb. 28.

"This is one of the more prestigious business plan competitions for the life sciences in the country, helping to grow Purdue University's reputation in the life sciences arena," said Kenneth Kahn, the Avrum and Joyce Gray Director of the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship. "While the objective of the competition is to identify those teams best able to show commercial viability, all teams are given the opportunity to meet with and be seen by key stakeholders in the life science field. It's very much a win-win situation for all finalists. "

The eight finalists emerged from an original field of 42 applicants who submitted executive summaries in the fall. Judges advanced 16 of those submissions to the business plan phase when firms provided detailed roadmaps for moving products and technologies from concept and prototype stage to commercialization.

The competition is open to teams based at universities and colleges, research and teaching hospitals, and other academic institutions engaged in bioresearch. Teams can be fledgling enterprises seeking seed capital or those further along in the commercialization process, including firms that have received grants, venture capital or equity investments. Entrants can have no third-party intellectual property agreements.

The finalist companies are:

• Renaissance Scientific of Philadelphia, Penn.

• Encore Path of Baltimore, Md.

• SpheroSense Technologies of Fishers, Ind.

• Etoh Pharmaceuticals of Chicago.

• MetaMol Theranostics of Cincinnati, Ohio.

• FAST Diagnostics of Indianapolis.

• MatrixBio of West Lafayette, Ind.

• Locomotion of Louisville, Colo.

First prize in the competition is $50,000, which is being awarded in memory of Don Blewett, former associate director of the Burton Morgan Center who died on Jan. 15, 2007. The winner also will receive $10,000 in legal and business services. Second prize is $35,000, plus $8,000 in legal and business services. Third prize is $25,000, plus $6,000 in legal and business services. Fourth prize is $20,000, fifth is $10,000, sixth is $5,000, seventh is $3,000 and eighth prize is $2,000.

BioCrossroads, an organization focused on growing Indiana's life sciences industry, is offering a $10,000 prize for the best plan and presentation by an Indiana-based team. Associate sponsor Baker & Daniels is contributing $12,000 in legal and consulting services to the top three finishers. Associate sponsor Ernst & Young is providing $12,000 in financial advisory services.

NeuroLife Noninvasive Solutions took top honors and $60,000 in cash and services in last year's competition when a total of $134,000 in prizes was awarded. NeuroLife is a Pittsburgh-based company that is developing a patent-pending device designed for a non-invasive diagnosis of brain swelling and potential brain damage.

Inquiries about the competition should be directed to Jackie Lanter at lanter@purdue.edu, (765) 494-6400.

Writer: Maggie Morris, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu

Source: Ken Kahn, (765) 496-3223, kbkahn@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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