The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship
hosts one of the premier conferences is our region: The "Life
Science Technology Venture Forum". It took place for the 9th time
yesterday and was full of insightful
and interesting presentations and startup pitches. There
are two groups that get to present. The first group
is preselected and has 5 winners (5 business
plan presenters). These get to present their
business. They have 10 minutes to present with 2 VC
giving feedback immediately after each
presentation.
Then, out of a pool of 36 elevator speech
presenters, another 10 winners are chosen based on
the quality of their pitch. This part is judged live during the
afternoon and the outcome is announced at the conclusion of the
conference. Startups can present their companies at tables
afterwards.
5 Business Plan Presenters and Rice Alliance "Most
Promising":
America Stem
Cell, Inc
Encore Vision,
Inc
LaserGen,
Inc
Nimbic Systems,
Inc,
Vapogenix,
Inc
My favorite among the main category winners was Encore Vision. Bill
Burns, is the CEO and is a seasoned veteran in the eye care
industry. He has the right mix of credibility and he presented a
tremendous opportunity which he delivered flawlessly. Encore Vision
is developing a treatment for presbyopia, or an inability to focus
on objects close by. We all are subject to this condition with age
and use bifocals or readers to make up for that. His technology
softens the lens and allows it to be more flexible. The obvious
worry, also brought up by the VC's giving feedback, is that
one could soften it too much.
I also liked Nimbic
Systems which addresses the problem of deep seeded infections
during surgery. Whether surgeons like to admit it or not,
infections happen even to the most careful surgeon. The air barrier
could be an easy, cost effective way to avoid such infections, or
at least reduce the likelihood. Potential problems to be addressed
are how to deal with potential dehydration of the surgical site and
VC's (and I) also wondered how big a trial would have to be to
prove efficacy. The theory and preclinical tests are easy to accept
- makes sense.
Elevator Pitches:
The 36 elevator pitches took 90 seconds and the judging
was more based on presentation skills then actual company
viability. It should be enough of a teaser to get you interested in
the company and get you to follow up by coming by the booth.
These
10 elevator pitch winners
who impressed the judges by their ability to peak their
interest:
Waldo
Health
HPT/Axis,
Inc
Respiratory Research,
Inc
Medhab, LLC
Ortho Kinematics,
Inc
Soft Imaging,
LLC
PCCA Technologies,
Inc
CB2 Pharma, Inc
Ischemic
Conditioning Therapeutics, Inc
Norwell,
Inc
Here some on the company opportunities that peaked my
interest (both by presentation and overall opportunity).
I was impressed by PCCA
Technologies, a glucose level indicator, built into
a contact lens. The color change, discreetly hidden at the bottom
of the lens, would indicate glucose levels. The question of course
would be how accurate, rapid and reliable the method could be and
if it would be able to serve as an enhancement to current glucose
meters or as a standalone method to measure blood glucose.
Fascinating idea however.
Corinnova remains
an interesting solution for the complex problem of congestive heart
failure. The compelling need and paucity of viable
alternative solutions for this disease make it a player in a
field that is starved for a real leap in disease
management.
Ischemic
Conditioning is an interesting twist to a benefit derived
simply from applying their technology to the benefit of heart
attack and stroke victims. Every bit helps in these conditions and
this could help reduce tissue damage in those acute
settings.
Medhab is addressing a
real problem too. After knee or hip surgery, this device could
help improve recovery times by applying a method to gauge the right
amount of weight distribution during this sensitive time,
potentially avoiding re-injury and reducing recovery
time.
Ortho
Kinematics' "Kinegraph Vertebral Motion Analyzer" allows a
surgeon to finally apply standard diagnostic measurements and
thereby guide therapy and new device/hardware development in spine
therapy.
Waldo Health is
positioned to become a leader in telemedicine for chronic disease
sufferers. The simple terminal would allow tighter management of
these conditions, improving care and reducing cost. Execution is
going to be key here.
There were many more worthy companies at Rice. I was very
impressed with the event, enjoyed judging and look forward to
next year. Next month will be our MedVentures 2010
conference here in North Texas (Frisco). We have had twice as many
applications as last year with over 50 companies. 10 winners will
be announced in June for business plan presentations and another 10
are being selected for elevator pitches. Stay tuned for the
announcements. Interestingly, there is very little overlap between
our 50 applicants and the 41 that presented at Rice. So be ready to
see what North Texas has to offer.