May 19, 2005
Startup Prosolia wins $50,000 award to move product to market
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Indianapolis-based company Prosolia will receive a $50,000 award Friday (May 20) as part of the Purdue- and Lilly Endowment Inc.-sponsored Opportunity for Indiana Award for Entrepreneurs.
The award, which is intended to recognize a startup Indiana company with high potential, will be presented at a 1:15 p.m. lunch for the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship's advisory board.
Prosolia (pronounced pra-SO-lee-ah) uses a device to analyze and identify chemical samples quickly and efficiently. The technology has applications ranging from airport security to astrobiology to forensic sciences.
The technology originated in the laboratories of Purdue's R. Graham Cooks, the Henry Bohn Hass Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. It was commercialized in Prosolia's 2004 spinout by Inproteo, a partnership among Eli Lilly and Co., Purdue and Indiana University whose mission is to capitalize on the state's university research in analytical chemistry. Purdue and IU's analytical chemistry departments both regularly rank among the top three in the nation.
Richard A. Cosier, Krannert School dean and Leeds Professor of Management, headed the committee that chose Prosolia from among the finalists of two business plan competitions run through the center.
"Several finalists of the Burton D. Morgan Competition and the Purdue-Roche Life Sciences Business Plan Competition submitted proposals to the committee," Cosier said. "The committee selected Prosolia as the recipient of this important award because it was at a place in its development where this timely cash infusion will cover a number of initiatives that will move the company forward in a significant way."
John Campbell, Prosolia's president and CEO, said the company was pleased to get the award.
"In our proposal, we identified five areas that this award would allow us to address in order to get our ElectroSonic Spray Ionization product to the marketplace," Campbell said. "This product, which is compatible with most existing mass spectrometers, allows the gentle ionization of fragile molecules, such as proteins, and is a significant advance over anything else on the market."
Campbell said Prosolia will use the prize money for expanded market research, product testing, completion of the product operator's manual and marketing materials, and activation of the company Web site.
The Lilly Endowment funds that provided the $50,000 prize are part of a $3.5 million, three-year grant, called Opportunity for Indiana, which aims to provide more opportunities and good jobs for graduates of the state's colleges, universities, technical schools and high schools. Last year the endowment and the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship sponsored three regional business plan competitions in Indiana.
Writer: Mike Lillich, (765) 494-2077, mlillich@purdue.edu
Sources: Richard A. Cosier, (765) 494-4366, rcosier@purdue.edu
John Campbell, (317) 278-6111, busallianc@aol.com
To the News Service home page