CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mass Innovation Labs, an accelerated commercialization space located in Kendall Square, announced today the grand prize winner of the BiotechTuesday 2016 Innovation Competition. Oncolinx, a biotechnology company focused on developing the next generation of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), was awarded a $1,500 cash prize from Charles River Laboratories and three months of free Bench on Demand laboratory space at Mass Innovation Labs, which provides the flexibility and capabilities to meet the needs of small and startup biopharmaceutical and life science companies. In addition to Oncolinx, D&P Bioinnovations received $2,000 from Greenburg Traurig for its innovation efforts. The winners were announced at BiotechTuesday on September 20, 2016, an exclusive event that brings together the leaders of Boston’s life science community in Kendall Square.
“The Oncolinx team will receive full operational support in our Bench on Demand space to execute on proof-of-concept and early-stage validation R&D projects,” said Seth Taylor, founder of BiotechTuesday and co-founder of Mass Innovation Labs. “BiotechTuesday is the largest biotech networking group and this competition gives startup life science companies the chance to drive their innovation.”
The 2016 Innovation Competition kicked off with 14 teams presenting to a panel of judges including Daniel Blanchard and Fang Xie of Greenberg Traurig, Paul Nederhoed of Charles River Laboratories and Mass Innovation Labs’ Co-Founders Amrit Chaudhuri, Seth Taylor and PC Zhu. Each presentation consisted of an elevator pitch and a business plan to back it up. The judges looked for the team offering the highest quality presentation with a market-wise, problem-solving opportunity and the greatest probability of success. On Monday night, the seven finalists made their concluding proposal before the winning teams were announced at BiotechTuesday. Oncolinx shared its winning pitch focused on cancer therapies that have dramatically fewer side effects and are more effective than current methods of treatment.
“We’re extremely thankful to have the opportunity to utilize Mass Innovation Labs’ Bench on Demand space which will serve as a launch pad for our company,” said Sourav Sinha, founder and CEO of Oncolinx. “This will help us to immediately advance our data as well as our partnerships with pharma companies to quickly move into clinical trials.”
Mass Innovation Labs has worked with a wide range of companies, from CRISPR Therapeutics to Editas Medicine, to reduce overhead expenses and accelerate the process through which these early-stage and mature member companies can bring drugs and devices to market.
For more information on Mass Innovation Labs, please visit www.massinnovationlabs.com or join us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
About Mass Innovation Labs
Mass Innovation Labs embodies an ecosystem of innovators in its 124,000-square-foot first-class chemistry and biology space in the heart of Kendall Square. We provide comprehensive solutions for growing companies, including animal facilities, on-site CRO support, co-located CRO services and operational needs. Our goal is to reduce the time for teams to overcome hurdles in achieving milestones. For more information, please visit www.massinnovationlabs.com or join us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
