Device to detect brain injury takes first in life sciences competition

Life Sciences Business Plan Competition
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The competition, now in its fourth year, attracted 70 entrants from across the country. Judges advanced 23 of those submissions to the business plan phase, in which detailed roadmaps for moving products and technologies from concept and prototype stage to commercialization were provided by the firms. Eight finalists were invited to campus this week to exhibit their technologies and make presentations to a panel of judges at the Burton D. Morgan Center in Discovery Park.

NeuroLife is a Pittsburgh-based company that is developing a patent-pending device that is designed for non-invasive diagnosis of brain swelling and potential brain damage. NeuroLife was announced as the top prize winner during a Wednesday night banquet.

Currently, the traditional way to diagnose intracranial pressure is by drilling a hole in the skull and inserting a probe, exposing the patient to risk of bleeding and infection. The NeuroLife device measures pressure through the human eye, avoiding invasive, dangerous and often unnecessary measurements through the skull.

In addition to $50,000 in cash, NeuroLife will receive $5,000 in legal and consulting services from Baker and Daniels and B&D Consulting and $5,000 in accounting services from Ernst and Young.

The second-place finisher was DNANO Systems of San Diego, which employs DNA-based materials, including a gel that generates protein in a cell-free environment. DNANO receives $20,000, plus $4,000 in legal and consulting services from Baker and Daniels and B&D Consulting and $4,000 in accounting services from Ernst & Young.

Finishing third and receiving $12,000 cash and $3,000 each in legal and consulting services and accounting services was Cedus Inc. of Libertyville, Ill., which is developing a cell-destroying compound that acts on the pituitary gland of companion animals to potentially replace surgical spaying and neutering.

Minimally Invasive Devices of Columbus, Ohio, which is developing devices that allow surgeries to be performed faster and less expensively by less-experienced surgeons, finished fourth and was awarded $7,000.

In fifth place, winning $5,000, was Brogan Pharmaceuticals of Crown Point, Ind., with a late-stage diagnostic and therapeutic drug product targeting the needs of small markets and individuals with rare diseases. As the top-finishing Indiana firm, Brogan also will receive $10,000 from BioCrossroads at the Indiana Life Sciences Forum on Oct. 23 in Indianapolis.

In sixth place, winning $3,000, was Precision Reproduction of Marina Del Ray, Calif., with a patented device and procedure for in-vitro fertilization that avoids traditional embryo transfer.

SanoGene Therapeutics and Kylin Therapeutics each earned $1,500 in cash. SanoGene of Chicago uses RNA interference technology to stop tumor progression, block tissue invasion and promote cancer cell death. Kylin employs RNA-based therapeutics that use a platform known as pRNA to produce treatments for late-stage cancers.

The Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship in Discovery Park, the interdisciplinary research hub on the West Lafayette campus, brings together existing entrepreneurial efforts on campus. The center is home to technology transfer activities, an undergraduate entrepreneurship certificate program and other entrepreneurial competitions, speakers and events.

Writer: Jay Cooperider, (765) 494-2077, jcoop@purdue.edu

Source: Donald Blewett, (765) 494-4485, blewett@purdue.edu

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

A publication-quality photo is available at http://news.uns.purdue.edu/images/+2006/bizcomp06-lifesci.jpg

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