UCSF Team Claims Prize in Life Science Competition

by Katherine Moortgat Two hundred people witnessed the 2006 Global Life Science Innovation Competition Finals Event last Friday April 21 at the UCSF Mission Bay Community Center. Fifteen teams were selected to present a 'lightning pitch' at the Finals Event, from the nearly 100 initial entries in the competition. Of these fifteen, six finalist teams received cash prizes. Entries came from all over California, the United States, and even other countries. Judges included leading venture capitalists and attorneys from the Bay Area and beyond. Several, including Jonathan MacQuitty of Abingworth Management, commented on the high quality of the ideas and presentations. The top prizes were awarded in two categories: Innovation and Clinical Impact. UCSF's own ConPharmigen took first prize in Clinical Impact, based on novel prostate cancer therapies in development by UCSF faculty member Marc Diamond, and lab members Bess Frost and Jeremy Jones, who represented the company. The Merck Research Laboratories Prize for Innovation was awarded to Replivir, based on technology from UCLA and USC, and represented by CEO Kevin Scanlan. Several presenting teams had previous funding. "This award has accelerated our plans for turning the ideas into a legitimate company ," said ConPharmigen's Jones. " The ideas for this company came together just a few months ago in the UCSF Idea to IPO course. We are now focused on getting the [scientific] data. If the results are as expected we will push ahead with our commercial plans." In addition to these awards, a People's Choice Award was voted by attendees based on posters presented. The People's Choice Awards went to CellASIC, a company developing microfluidics technologies based on work by UC Berkeley founders; with runners up Skeletal Health Systems, based in Lawrence Livermore National Labs, San Diego Veterans Administration and UC San Diego; and Sunny BioDiscovery, based in Santa Clara, CA. First Global Life Science Competition to Reward Innovation