Newly launched business plan contest has attracted cutting edge companies from around the world.
Wilmington, DE, 13th October 2015 – The shortlist of finalists for the Pistoia Alliance President’s Startup Challenge 2015 was announced today, showcasing a range of startup companies with exciting new ideas from across Europe and the USA.
The Startup Challenge 2015 has seen startup companies from around the world develop new ideas to lower the barriers to innovation in life sciences R&D, with over 30 entries submitted. A panel of expert judges drawn from the Pistoia Alliance’s membership reviewed all entries and provided detailed written feedback to each one.
The five entries selected as finalists by the judges include:
- BSSN Software GmbH (Germany): software to improve access to scientific data through an integrated approach
- Informatics Unlimited (UK): services and novel informatics solutions for Life Science R&D organisations
- Novaseek Research (USA): a platform that enables access to real-world real-time clinical data and human biospecimens to accelerate R&D
- Ontoforce (Belgium): pioneering technology for information flow and management
- Repositive Limited (UK): provision of efficient access to genomic data through a novel platform
The finalists were presented with their awards by Dr. Steve Arlington, President of the Pistoia Alliance, at the Pistoia Alliance US Conference 2015 in Philadelphia. The finalists will each receive three months’ mentorship from a Pistoia Alliance member company and a small cash prize of US$5,000 to help them develop their business plans further.
Final judging will take place in January with the overall winners announced at an awards ceremony in London, UK, in February 2016. The winners will each receive an additional cash prize of US$15,000 and a further six months of expert mentorship. Mentors in the Startup Challenge are senior industry figures drawn from the Pistoia Alliance membership, offering valuable industry insight to the Finalists and Winners and a chance for them to validate their ideas against real industry needs.
Dr Steve Arlington, President of the Pistoia Alliance, said: “We are delighted to have attracted such a range of excellent companies from around the world. Technology will allow us to support cost effective healthcare delivery in exciting new ways in the future. Life science and biotech startup companies like these are already making an impact globally, and with support from the Pistoia Alliance we hope to accelerate the progress and impact of our finalists in this highly competitive market. Small businesses are crucial to the development of new innovations in life sciences and we hope that by supporting these companies we can lower the barriers to innovation globally.”
Jaroslaw Tomczak, Founder and Director of one of the finalists, Informatics Unlimited Ltd., said “We are thrilled to have reached the final of the Startup Challenge and enormously grateful to the Pistoia Alliance for organising this competition. It is a unique opportunity for small businesses like ours to validate novel ideas and to receive critical advice from life science industry experts. In particular, we want to thank the judges who provided us with very valuable feedback and we look forward to working with our mentor on boosting our product vision.”