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Biological Therapy Team Named 2009 Global Moot Corp Champion

A company hoping to significantly slow the onset of antibiotic resistance claimed the grand prize at the 26th annual Global Moot Corp Competition held at the University of Texas at Austin on Saturday, May 9. Novophage Therapeutics from Boston University and MIT beat out 39 teams from top MBA programs around the world to claim the Global Champion prize.

Novophage Therapeutics will introduce a biological therapy that slows the onset of antibiotic resistance and increases the efficacy of antibiotics. The company plans to offer treatments for highly antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, allowing infectious disease doctors to better manage the fight against multidrug-resistant strains through co-administration of engineered bacteriophages with current clinical standards of care.  Team members include Timothy Lu, Tanguy Chau, Michael Koeris and Ann DeWitt.

The Global Champion receives a prize package worth $135,000:
1) $25,000 in cash;
2) the Austin Technology Incubator Launch Package worth $25,000 featuring a one year membership which includes strategic business consulting services and mentoring from a team of industry experts, office space, and access to discounted legal, accounting, and businesses services from top tier providers;
3) consulting with the McCombs School of Business entrepreneurship faculty worth $25,000;
4) a full page ad in Inc. magazine worth $60,000.
The winning team will also close the NASDAQ Stock Market on July 31.

This year, 40 teams gathered in Austin to compete. Forty-two percent were international, coming from Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Norway and Thailand. This translates into a rich environment of people, cultures, and interesting businesses to watch in action.

Today, ten semifinalists competed in two divisions. The judges then selected the top two teams in each division to move to the Finals. Tetra One Source from University of Louisville, Novophage Therapeutics from Boston University and MIT, necoPlastics from University of Louisville and Tears for Life from the University of Arkansas competed in the final round.

The Competition simulates the real-world process of raising venture capital. It is a unique partnership that brings together graduate students and business leaders. The judges function as an investment group seeking to reach consensus on the business venture they would most likely fund. The quality of the idea, the strength of the management team and the clarity and persuasiveness of the written plan and oral presentation all influence the judges’ decisions.

Novophage Therapeutics was awarded the top prize after the two-day competition that featured 16 international MBA teams and 24 teams from colleges from the leading MBA programs around the U.S. The Finals judges were William Glasgow, Prime II Investments; Phil Speros, Halsa Pharmaceuticals; Tom Ball, Austin Ventures, and Tom Thornton, Kansas Bioscience Authority.

The Novophage Therapeutics team was one of the eight division winners in the Opening Round held on Friday, May 8. The 40 teams were narrowed down to ten semifinals that competed Saturday morning in two divisions. The top two teams of each division competed in the Finals Saturday afternoon; less than three hours after learning they had won their Semifinal round.

Tears for Life from the University of Arkansas was selected the first runner up, and will receive $5,000 in cash. Tears for Life is developing a tear test kit that will screen women for breast cancer using proteins found in tears. The tear test kit is a non-invasive, convenient and objective screening tool that allows for early detection and treatment of breast cancer, saving lives and significantly reducing health care costs.

necoPlastics from University of Louisville was second runner-up. necoPlastics has a patented technology for producing recycled plastic resin which enables the company to recycle unsorted mixed plastics to create a 100% recycled plastic resin which will completely revolutionize the plastics industry. Compared to other resins, this material will be less expensive, comparable in performance and environmentally friendly.

Tetra One Source from University of Louisville was named third runner-up. Tetra One Source has a patented application of naturally occurring materials uniquely combined to reduce heavy metal toxicity and radioactive nuclide levels in soil and aqueous solutions. Their Tritetra product fosters environmental sustainability and is attractive to the heavy metal soil remediation market because natural raw materials do not introduce another chemical to the site that may require further remediation.

View the complete list of winners at www.mootcorp.org/Results09.asp.