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Young entrepreneurial talent from Loughborough University reaches biotech final
Posted on 30/12/08
Young entrepreneurial talent from Loughborough University reaches biotech final
A team of bioscientists from Loughborough University have beaten off stiff competition to make it through to the final round of the annual Biotechnology Young Entrepreneurs Scheme (YES) competition where young scientists pitch their ideas to a panel of investors. This national competition is run by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the University of Nottingham Institute for Enterprise and Innovation (UNIEI).
The Biotechnology YES final will be held in London on 8 December 2008 where the team will be challenged to impress a panel of judges with their proposal for a hypothetical company called Pro Dia, which has developed a product called WoundTouch. WoundTouch is a unique point of care screening test for chronic wounds which allows clinicians to make informed treatment decisions to promote wound closure faster than current treatments. The Pro Dia team, which is part of the Healthcare Engineering Research Unit at the University, is competing against 13 other teams for the Biotechnology YES 2008 title and 1000 prize money.
Pawanbir Singh, managing director of Pro Dia said: It is a valuable experience for us to learn about entrepreneurial skills and team work, both of which are primary requisites to launch research based products in the commercial arena. I thank all my team members for working exhaustively on our plan to come up with a profitable business case for launching WoundTouch, and we are looking forward to the finals in London.
Dr Celia Caulcott, Director of Innovation and Skills, BBSRC added: For science to contribute significantly to the UK economy, now and in the future, we need to have excellent scientists with vital entrepreneurial skills. This competition gives young scientists an opportunity to develop necessary skills in finance, marketing and intellectual property to ensure that world class research is turned into deliverable benefits for the UK. We wish all of the finalists the best of luck in the final stage of the competition.
Biotechnology YES is an annual competition, now in its 13th year, that aims to help the UKs young bioscientists gain the skills and contacts needed to turn research into commercial reality. Through regional heats across the UK, young scientists competed for places in the final, mentored by a team of advisors including financiers, intellectual property experts and spin-out company heads.