"Simple solution" wins idea prize
Charon Biotech. From the left: Hrishikesh Joshi, Piotr Florysiak, Louise Leth Hefting og Mario Minoia.
Great timing, an idea that is more complicated than it looks, and a lot of work. That is the recipe for a project which secured the Charon Biotech group victory in the category Cleantech & Environment at Venture Cup's Idea Competition 2015.
- The winning team demonstrated great technological hope and if applied it may radically reduce costs of biomolecules in both the food processing and the pharmaceutical industry, said jury member Frederik Flagsted, COO of the company GreenGo Energy.
Charon Biotech is a cooperation between master students at CBS’ BioBusiness and Innovation Platform and students from Georgia Institute of Technology.
Biomolecules
The cooperation started when the students as part of their programme had to come up with an idea for Venture Cup's Idea Competition. They got into contact with Hussam H. Nour-Eldin, Associate Professor at the University of Copenhagen, who had an idea for creating biomolecules, which he wanted to turn into a business.
Biomolecules can produce vanilla, scent in perfumes or vitamins in a vitamin pill. They are created in modified cells, but they need to be separated from the cells before they can be used. It is this cell separation that Charon Biotech wants to make easier.
- It has been difficult for the industry, but we have managed to find a method that sounds so simple it almost seems silly. Basically, the idea is to make the cells pump the biomolecules out themselves. But it's easy to say and difficult to do, explains Marco Minoia, a master student at CBS.
Advantages and disadvantages
Although the distance between Denmark and the United States has meant challenges in the form of Skype meetings and many emails, the cooperation has generally worked really well. The students have met both in the United States and in Denmark, and one of the American group members was also present when Charon Biotech won the award for best idea in the Cleantech & Environment category.
The academic project is now over since the participation in Venture Cup's Idea Competition counts as a course exam. But the students have agreed to keep working on the project - at least in their spare time.
Venture Cup is a start-up competition run on university funds and with support from private and public funding. The Idea Competition grants prizes in six categories and the winner of each category receives DKK 25,000. At this year's Idea Competition, teams with CBS students participated in five out of six categories.
For additional information contact Project Manager in the Venture Cup Camilla Gilbro