November 15, 2007

Purdue Research Parks company wins grand prize, Purdue professor receives award for innovation in state's Venture Idol competition

Robert McShane, president and CEO of First Precision, said his company was ranked first by a voting audience and by judges composed of company owners and venture capitalists.

"It's thrilling for me, especially when you consider the competition at this event. There were a lot of top-quality products and companies competing," McShane said. "We had to present our company and products in two separate rounds - top innovators and finalists.

"I think one of the factors we had in our favor is that PowderCoil™ uses an environmentally friendly powder paint that eliminates carbon dioxide emissions, reduces production costs and makes great prepainted steel and aluminum. That makes what we do unique."

The contest used an "American Idol" approach in which entrepreneurs made "elevator pitches" before a five-member panel of judges and about 400 audience members, who then cast electronic votes for the contestants.

The innovators round included the Venture Idol Top 20 companies that were selected prior to the event. Purdue Research Parks had other companies placing in the top 20, including 2K Corp., Kylin Therapeutics and Nanovis Inc., all located at the West Lafayette park, and Nesch LLC and HealthCall LLC, both located at the Purdue Technology Center in the Merrillville, Ind., park.

"This competition rewards and recognizes entrepreneurs across the state, and we are very pleased that so many of the Purdue Research Parks companies placed so well in the event," said Joseph B. Hornett, senior vice president, treasurer and COO of the Purdue Research Foundation, which owns and operates the research parks. "We now have about 160 companies based out of the West Lafayette and Merrillville parks, and almost all of them are high-tech firms focusing on life sciences or biotechnology. Two more research parks, one in Indianapolis and New Albany, Ind., will open next year."

First Precision of Crown Point, Ind. became an affiliate company of the Purdue Technology Center of Northwest Indiana in September 2006. The company developed the proprietary PowderCoilTM technology, which is an automated, high-speed, high-performance steel and aluminum coil coating application process. The process will be used for applying paint and other coated finishes to metals used in building materials, automobiles, appliances, furniture and fixtures, containers, and other products.

Philip S. Low, the Ralph C. Corley Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, and his graduate assistant Wei He received the "Most Innovative New Product" award for a product that they presented through the Purdue Research Park company Endocyte Inc.

"We have developed fluorescent tumor-specific dyes that label cancer cells in the bloodstream of cancer patients," Low said. "As these tumor cells pass through a near-surface blood vessel, we detect and count them with a laser-equipped optical device that is safe for human use. In this manner, we can sensitively determine whether a patient's cancer has metastasized and whether a patient's cancer burden is decreasing in response to any therapy."

Other Venture Idol awards presented at the weeklong event included "Biggest Opportunity" and "Let Me Invest Now." The event included Collegiate Idol winners as well. The event was part of the Indiana Entrepreneurship Week, which partners aspiring entrepreneurs with education, investors and mentors with a goal of advancing regional economic growth.

The competition was co-sponsored by the Venture Club of Indiana, TechPoint and the Indiana Economic Development Corp.

About Purdue Research Park

Purdue Research Park (https://www.purdueresearchpark.com) encompasses 725 acres in West Lafayette, Ind., and is home to the largest university-affiliated business incubator complex in the nation. Within the park, 140 businesses, of which more than 90 are high-tech, employ more than 2,900 people. The Association of University Research Parks recognized Purdue Research Park for Excellence in Technology Transfer in 2005, and the park received the organization's Research/Science Park Company of the Year Award of Excellence in 2004.

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

Writer: Cynthia Sequin, (765) 494-4192, casequin@prf.org

Sources: Joseph Hornett, (765) 494-8645, jbhornett@prf.org

John Hanak, (219) 644-3688, jmhanak@prf.org

Robert McShane, (773) 429-9545, rjmcshane@powdercoil.com

Philip Low, (765) 494-5273, plow@purdue.edu