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And the
Winner Is...
Biotech and software ventures
pushed aside dot-com
mania at Wharton's third
annual Business Plan Competition.
ProtoCell, a biotechnology
company that is developing
a drug discovery tool to
determine the function of
thousands of proteins, was
the grand-prize winner of
the nine-month long competition,
which culminated on
April 30. The winning team
was awarded $25,000.
ProtoCell's drug discovery
tool, called the Protein
eXpression Chip, is about a
year away from entering a
$14 billion market, team
members say. The chip will
allow scientists to understand
the function of each protein
encoded by each gene. Company
revenue will be driven
by chip sales, diagnostic applications
and intellectual
property ownership.
Sponsored by Wharton's
Goergen Entrepreneurial
Management Program, the
Business Plan Competition
attracts hundreds of students
from across Penn, as well as
the attention of entrepreneurs,
investment bankers
and venture capitalists. Competition
finalists showcase
their business plans to a
panel of six judges during
intense, timed presentations
before an audience of hundreds.
ProtoCell was one of
eight finalist teams – dubbed
the Great Eight – culled
from a selection process that
began last fall. Though last
year's finalists were heavily
weighted toward the Internet
– seven of last year's eight
were e-commerce or Internet-
based concepts – this
year, none of the final teams
was a 'pure' dot-com venture.
The second place winner,
Designware, took home
$15,000. Designware provides
software tools and support
services that streamline
and automate product development
processes. Genoma,
a company that uses genomic
technology and proprietary
software to analyze a patient's
genetic history and make
health and wellness recommendations,
received the
$10,000 third prize. Lead
sponsors of the 2000-2001
competition include Enron,
CIBC and CommerceNet.
For more information on the
competition, visit the Wharton
Business Plan Competition
site at www.wharton.bpc.com
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