Baker & Daniels Awards Services to Life Sciences Competition Winner

Novophage Therapeutics of Cambridge, Mass., received $5,000 in legal services from Baker & Daniels as part of the first-place prize in the sixth annual Purdue University Life Sciences Business Plan Competition, the Lafayette Journal and Courier reported in its story, "Mass. Company Tops in Purdue Business Plan Competition."

Eight start-up businesses in the life sciences arena competed for funding during the final round of competition. Novaphage Therapeutics, which was formed seven months ago, is a company developing a type of biological therapy that slows the onset of antibiotic resistance and increases the efficacy of antibiotics. The first-place prize of $30,000 also included $5,000 in business services from accounting firm Ernst and Young.

"We formed this company because we had this wonderful technology, and we want bring it to society so that it can benefit the public and not sit in a lab," Novophage's Tanguy Chau, a presidential fellow at MIT and a doctoral candidate in chemical engineering practice, said in the Lafayette Journal and Courier story.

Each team had 45 minutes to present its plan to a panel of 11 judges, including venture capitalists, health industry professionals and industry service providers, according to the story. Judges had earlier reduced the field from 27 entries to the eight finalists. A total of $100,000 was up for grabs in the competition.