The University of Liverpool’s Biotech YES winners, Nutec, are through to the semi-finals of a major Europe-wide bio-entrepreneur competition that turns theory into practice and lands the winner £100,000 in cash.
Nutec, made up of Kelly Ward, Robert Hornby, Sumaya Dauleh and Ilaria Santeramo were overall winners in the national Biotechnology Young Entrepreneurs Scheme (Biotech YES) finals in London back in December.
Real deal
But now the team has gone one step further and made it through to last 35 of the OneStart contest run by SR One, the venture capital arm of GlaxoSmithKline and Oxbridge Roundtable.
Kelly Ward, a Physiology PhD student in the University’s Institute of Translational Medicine, said: “This competition is the biggest of its kind, offering a £100,000 cash prize, free lab space, business and patent support as well as a year’s membership to life science business networks in Oxford, Cambridge, London and across Europe. It’s the real deal. Where Biotech YES was purely hypothetical, OneStart allows us to carry out proof of concept behind our idea and turn it into an invention.”
Kelly said: “People purchase food based on how it tastes, and often this nice taste is provided by the high volumes of added sugar, that people neglect to look at on the food packaging. It seems highly unlikely that the food industry will be willing to cut the sugar in their products for the health benefits of its consumers, as this will mean reduced sales due to the food not tasting as good. This is where we come in.”
The team travel to the Biotech Bootcamp on Saturday (February 15) at University College London, along with their fellow semi-finalists. As part of an action packed day, they will have the opportunity to take part in interactive sessions with experienced entrepreneurs and engage in a ‘speed-mentoring’ programme aimed at identifying and connecting with mentors who will be able to provide most value to their bid. They are also required to pitch their idea and convince others of its viability.
Extremely exciting
A mentorship period follows the bootcamp before delivery of a five page business plan is due, on April 1st, that will determine whether Nutec makes it through to the final 10. If successful, the team will be invited to pitch again at the London final, on May 15.
Kelly added: “We are all overjoyed that we have made it through to the semi-final of OneStart Europe. Many of the teams that have made it this far already are in the latter stages of product development and have proof of concept data or invention prototypes. Unlike those, we just have a realistic idea and a highly motivated team driving it and should we win, the prospect of being able to take our idea forward is extremely exciting.”
