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Next-Generation
Back Pain
Treatment
Wins Wharton
Business Plan
Competition
Grand Prize
During his medical training,
Neil Malhotra observed patients
with uncontrolled back
pain. He noticed that patients
with early-stage degenerative
disc disease had little alternative
but to wait in pain for
up to two years for their condition
to improve or worsen
to a point where invasive
steps are warranted. His recognition
of that ordeal led
him to invent an innovative
back pain treatment and
co-found NP Solutions, the
student team that won the
$20,000 grand prize at the
2007 Wharton Business Plan
Competition (WBPC).
The prize was awarded at
the Wharton School’s annual
Venture Finals April 24,
2007, where student finalists
received a total of $70,000 in
combined cash prizes, access
to capital, and in-kind legal/
accounting services. The students
of NP Solutions include Serena Kohli, WG’07;
Patrick Mayes, Jason Covy,
Peter Buckley, and Brian
Bingham, all PhD candidates
in Pharmacology at
Penn’s School of Medicine;
and Malhotra, a resident
in Neurosurgery at the
Hospital of the University of
Pennsylvania. RejuvaDisc,
the product they developed,
is a polymer-based injectable
hydrogel treatment for back
pain related to degenerative
disc disease that they say is
less invasive and more effective
with fewer side effects
than current approaches.
The judges who selected
the winning teams included Madi Ferencz, WG’71,
Founder, Magic Sliders
LP; James Lussier, W’78,
General Partner, Norwest
Venture Partners; David
Piacquad, WG’84, Senior
Vice President, Schering-Plough Corp.; Richard
Thompson, WG’96,
Chairman and CPO, Adify
Corp.; Rob Willenbucher, WG’03, Vice President,
Venture Leader, Johnson &
Johnson Development Corp.
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