2006 Press Release

Cytex Therapeutics

Curtis Mina (Fuqua/Medicine ‘07), Ani Worilaker, PhD (Fuqua ‘06), Farshid Guilak, PhD (BME faculty), Nikhil Dhongade (Fuqua ‘06), Shrikanth Chunduri, Anshu Kalra (Fuqua ‘06),

First Place Overall ($25,000) & Healthcare Track Winner ($5,000)

Cytex Therapeutics’ first generation product is a temporary bio-artificial bone and cartilage composite which is targeted towards patients with ages ranging from 40 to 65 who have low quality of life due to osteoarthritic hip joints.

Precision BioSciences

Sean Demeule (Fuqua ‘06), Derek Jantz, Matthew Kane (Fuqua ‘06), Jeff Smith, Chris Rhodes (Fuqua ‘06)

Second Place Overall ($15,000)

Precision BioSciences provides the only method to target and alter single DNA sequences in a genome. Precision BioSciences’ platform offers specificity, customizability, efficiency and safety as it quickly and permanently alters virtually any gene in almost any organism without affecting the rest of the DNA strand.

Novelios

Daniel Catron (PhD candidate), Joseph Berryhill (Fuqua ‘07), Sven Mumme (Fuqua ‘06), Jeremy Loch (Fuqua ‘07)

Third Place Overall ($10,000)

Novelios, Inc. is a start-up company committed to advancing the next class of glaucoma and ocular hypertention (OHT) therapeutics that goes beyond simply reduing intraocular pressure (IOP) by offering neuroprotection. Duke University researchers have developed a platform that targets a new pathway for the treatment of glaucoma and its precursor, OHT, aimed at protecting opic nerve cells and reducing IOP.

BookBuzz

Jason Darling (Fuqua ‘06), Doug Santschi (Fuqua ‘06), Fergus Thomas

Phase III Finalist & Consumer Products/Services Track Winner ($5,000)

BookBuzz is a subscription-based service which electronically delivers existing children’s titles through its website to a proprietary BookBuzz electronic reader. BookBuzz ships the lightweight 6′ x 8′ reader direct to the subscriber’s homes where they connect the device via USB to their home computers. The website maintains a personalized space which tracks the books they have read, makes recommendations based on the child’s interests and reading level and provides a forum for interaction between readers.

ADME

Paul Duncan, James Jackson, John Oh (Fuqua ‘06), Jordan Weinstein (Fuqua ‘06)

Phase III Finalist & Technology Track Winner ($5,000)

ADME will develop and manufacture super high performance servers based on breakthrough proprietary chip technology and specifically designed for large volume data mining and data warhousing needs. It will offer (1) database search speed of at least 500 times faster than any system available today, (2) scalability with negligible degradation of performance, (3) the lowest cost of ownership and (4) no need to use or learn new software.

 

 

Cardiovascular Resonances (CVR)

Orville Day, Joshua Foltz, Ronald Li, David Pravica, Chimnay Singh (Fuqua ‘06)

Phase III Finalist

Cardiovascular Resonances has been able to create a device that non-invasively detects and analyzes sound waves from the neck and heart. Significant benefits of this technology include no radiation and less screening time as compared with the currently used ultrasound technology. With comparable sensitivity and specificity, the device could be used for early detection of cardiovascular disease, thus preventing catastrophic events such as stroke or death.

 

 

Applied Polymer, Inc.

Frank Shi, Muhammad Syed (Fuqua ‘06)

Phase III Finalist

Applied Poiymer, Inc. designs and develops novel low-cost and high-performance photoimageable copolyester materials used in advanced microelectronic packaging and flexible printed circuit board markets. The company’s proprietary innovations (US patent #5,707,782) will offer new materials and processes with multiple unique feaures and technological advantages over the produccts currently available in the market.

 

 

Pro Joe

Benjamin Picard (CCMBA ‘07), Unmesh Mayekar (CCMBA ‘07), Annamalai Ramanathan (CCMBA ‘07)

Social Enterprise Track Winner ($5,000)

Committee Co-Chairs

Abram Becker (Fuqua ‘06), Mike Pisetsky (Fuqua/Law ‘08)