Muscabiotics and Prognostix win Venture Challenge Fall 2011
Winners split €25,000 prize money to further develop promising ventures
December 14, 2011
The
Fall 2011 edition of
the Venture Challenge took a surprising turn when two winners were
announced yesterday during the Dutch Life Sciences & Health conference
in Media Plaza, Utrecht. Life sciences ventures Muscabiotics and
Prognostix will split the €25,000 prize money. Muscabiotics focuses on
the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases in livestock.
Prognostix develops innovative diagnostic tests for prostate cancer.
The
jury of the Venture Challenge, consisting of investors and experienced
biotech entrepreneurs and chaired by Carine van den Brink (Axon Lawyers),
was impressed by the quality of the presentations and the propositions
of Muscabiotics and Prognostix and particularly by both teams' ability
to address the questions raised by the jury. Both teams clearly
demonstrated their knowledge of and experience in their respective
fields. As a result, the jury decided, for the first time, to share the
prize between the two ventures. Muscabiotics and Prognostix will each
receive €12,500 to further develop their business plan and
entrepreneurial skills.
About Muscabiotics
Muscabiotics will develop antimicrobial nutraceuticals for the treatment
and prevention of infectious diseases in livestock. Genetic modification
of the common house fly (Musca domestica) will provide an alternative to
the use of antibiotics. The nutraceutical will comprise a single
effective agent or a cocktail of agents, and will be useful as a growth
enhancer replacing antibiotics in feed. Fly larvae are already
mass-reared commercially at scale to provide fly meal as a
cost-effective, sustainable and ecologically friendly alternative to
fishmeal, which depletes fish stocks. The initial focus of Muscabiotics
will be on nutraceuticals for poultry.
About
Prognostix
Prognostix targets the major problem of ineffective care for prostate
cancer patients. Prostate cancer is the leading cancer type in men. Each
year, approximately 900,000
new cases are diagnosed worldwide and the
disease is responsible for 150,000 - 200,000 deaths. The current lack of
accurate tools for diagnosis and prognosis (prediction of clinical
development of a disease) leads to serious over-diagnosis and
over-treatment in the early stages of the disease. As a result, a large
group of men have to deal with severe side effects that might have been
avoided with better diagnostic and prognostic tools. Prognostix is
developing three proprietary diagnostic and prognostic tests that offer
the prospect of improved quality of life for patients as well as cost
savings due to better disease management.
For more information:
Chrétien Herben | Netherlands Genomics Initiative | T +31 70 344 0959 |
info@lifesciencesatwork.nl
About the Venture Challenge
The Venture Challenge offers advice and coaching on essential
elements of setting up
a life sciences business. In two 3-day workshops, participating teams
are continuously challenged by the facilitators and each other to
streamline their business plan and improve their 'pitch'. The team with
the best business plan and pitch is awarded €25,000 to further develop
their venture.
The Venture Challenge Spring 2012 welcomes submissions by interested
parties. The deadline for proposals is 6 March 2012. For details on
submission requirements and general information on the Venture Challenge
visit
www.venturechallenge.nl
The Venture Challenge is part of the LifeSciences@work start-up support programme powered by NGI. www.lifesciencesatwork.nl