The New Orleans BioInnovation Center recently announced the four finalists in the 2017 BioChallenge pitch competition. This annual business challenge offers more than $50,000 in cash and investment prizes to Louisiana life sciences startups. Four entrepreneurs will pitch in the free, public final event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 8. All based in New Orleans, the four finalist startups are Instapath, Obatala Sciences, Inc., RDnote, and Ready Responders.
Every year, five million biopsy procedures are performed to diagnose cancer in the United States. One million of those patients need repeat procedures due to inadequate biopsy quality. Painful repeat procedures also delay life-saving treatments. Current biopsy quality assurance methods capture less than one percent a total biopsy. Instapath has developed a solution that provides an exact picture of a whole biopsy at subcellular resolution, within seconds, to ensure the quality of biopsies. Instapath’s solution also reduces the length of time of biopsy procedures, enhances the overall workflow, and supports remote evaluation.
Obatala Sciences, Inc. is a tissue-engineering company that offers its core technology, Fat-on-a-Chip, as both a service and a kit. Fat-on-a-Chip is a 3-dimensional, human adipose tissue culture system that is marketed for disease modeling and drug discovery within the obesity/diabetes/metabolism pharmaceutical and academic sectors. This drug screening tool will help researchers to identify more efficacious lead compounds in human tissue and reduce the time, money, and efforts required for large-scale animal models.
RDnote is a digital health company which helps healthcare providers to deliver quality care, and to receive compensation for effective, customized interventions with high-risk patients in the hospital and in an ambulatory setting.
Ready Responders recruits, trains, and equips a network of full- and part-time EMTs and healthcare professionals to respond to the city’s 911 medical calls, working in partnership with local ambulance services. Utilizing a proprietary app and GPS technology to rapidly deploy its first responder network and telehealth technology supported by Board-certified emergency medicine providers, Ready Responders gives 911 patients the right care, at the right time, and at the right place. Ready Responders also helps patients overcome the most prevalent barrier to care--transportation. The company aims to reduce response times, direct patients to appropriate points of care, reduce costly ambulance transports, and reduce use of overcrowded ERs.
During the final event, each company will present an eight-minute pitch to a panel of investors and industry expert judges. These judges will ask questions and provide feedback, then select the major prize winners. The Grand Prize is $25,000, and the New Orleans BioFund will award a $25,000 investment prize, which is conditional on a due diligence review. The $2,500 Audience Favorite Award winner will be chosen by event attendees through a text vote.
The event will be held at the Joy Theater.
Developed and run annually by the New Orleans BioInnovation Center, the BioChallenge was created to support new businesses that will generate jobs and economic growth in the state. The 2017 competition received 20 eligible applications from across the state. A pool of eight startups from New Orleans and Baton Rouge received the highest scores in round one, and they presented short pitches to a panel of independent entrepreneurs in the semi-final round. The four top-scoring startups now advance to the finals.
The competition is presented as part of the BioInnovation Center’s Innovation Louisiana series of events, which highlights scientific discoveries from universities and startups across the state. These events are running from Nov. 5-10 in New Orleans. Learn more at www.neworleansbio.com/innovationla.