Purdue Research Park-based life-sciences firm places second in Rice Business Plan CompetitionApril 20, 2012 WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A company founded by a Purdue University post-doctoral fellow and graduate student and based in the Purdue Research Park finished second in the world's largest and richest graduate-level business plan competition this week. Medtric LLC placed second among 42 teams in the Rice Business Plan Competition, earning the $100,000 Opportunity Houston Technology Prize from the Greater Houston Partnership, the $25,000 NASA "Game Changer" Award, the $15,000 cash prize for second place sponsored by Finger Interests, the $3,000 Life Science Award from Essex Woodlands Health Ventures, and the $3,000 Outstanding Written Business Plan Award from Palo Alto Software. The competition consisted of four rounds of pitching, including 15 minutes of presentations, followed by 20 minutes of questioning. Winners in each round moved to the subsequent rounds. Medtric aims to commercialize a nanotechnology-based therapeutic for the prevention and treatment of infected wounds. The company was founded by Sean Connell, who currently is pursuing his doctorate at Purdue's Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, and Jianming Li, who earned his doctorate in biomedical engineering at Purdue. Connell is president and chief operating officer, and Li is the chief scientific officer. William Schryver, an MBA student at Purdue's Krannert School of Management, serves as a financial analyst for the group. Connell described how Medtric will benefit from the awards. "The financial awards from the Rice Business Plan Competition, along with our earlier successes in winning Purdue's Burton D. Morgan Business Plan Competition and Life Sciences Business Plan Competition, will be used to move toward FDA approval for our core antimicrobial technology," he said. Li said there are several medium-range goals for the company. "We will continue to work toward FDA approval within the next 18 to 24 months," he said. "We look to sell our products shortly after both over the counter and in human clinical markets." A video produced by Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship showing Connell presenting Medtric's elevator pitch during the competition can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-lIQxgdKyo About Medtric LLC Medtric aims to provide the measurable difference by delivering clinically robust and economically sensible wound-care solutions. About Purdue Research Park The Purdue Research Park, with four locations across Indiana, has the largest university-affiliated business incubation complex in the country. The parks are home to about 200 companies that employ 4,000 people and are located in West Lafayette, Indianapolis, Merrillville and New Albany.
Purdue Research Park contact: Steve Martin, 765-588-3342, sgmartin@prf.org Sources: Sean Connell, connell@medtricbiotech.com
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