OcuMedic (Auburn University)

OcuMedic is an ophthalmic drug delivery company with a proprietary, patent-pending technology that creates a new architecture in polymeric films to enable enhanced drug loading and delayed drug release for eye treatments including eye comfort, allergy, infection, and inflammation – a new drug delivery system via contact lenses. Most ocular drugs are delivered via eye drops which are marginally effective because of poor patient compliance, high and/or insufficient dosages, irritation, side effects, and the fact that patients cannot wear contact lenses with medical eye drops. OcuMedic’s products can deliver medication more effectively and more conveniently versus current treatments. The team leader is Dr. Mark Byrne, an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at Auburn University.  

Since the competition, OcuMedic used the prize money to expand its intellectual property portfolio, including filing for international patent protection. The company expects to begin animal tests of the lenses in the near future at the Auburn University College of Veterinary Sciences.

Halo Monitoring (University of Alabama in Huntsville)

Halo Monitoring (formerly Halo Research) is a technical healthcare product company focused on developing wearable biomedical systems for health and lifestyle monitoring. Halo’s products are positioned to address healthcare concerns for a large and growing population of independently living elderly adults. Unlike the majority of competing products which require seniors to manually press a panic button, Halo’s products can automatically detect serious health concerns – even a user falling – without any active participation from the user, and remotely notify designated caregivers. The product includes wireless wearable technology for monitoring physiological signals, a wireless gateway for encrypting and transmitting physiological data to a secure health server, and a web-based interface to facilitate continuous and remote monitoring from anywhere in the world, anytime of day. The team leader is Chris Otto, a recent graduate of the Master of Computer Science program at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Since the competition, Halo has completed their prototypes and has begun a pilot study in the Huntsville with approximately 50 subjects. The company was successful in raising $1 million of investment capital from the Huntsville Angel Network, Greer Capital Advisors and Jemison Investments Company. Halo Monitoring is currently incubated at BizTech.

IntelCell (University of Alabama in Huntsville)

Intelligent Cellular Systems Inc. (d.b.a. IntelCell) is a cell-culture, technology-development company created to design, develop and market a new product platform to modernize research techniques for cell and tissue growth. The company's first product, Cell Drive™, will attempt to replace traditional cell culture equipment by providing a new level of usability and sophistication for the user. For scientists whose research depends upon live cell culture, Cell Drive™ will offer a compact, precision, cell growth system that increases experimental control, improves sterility, provides digitization of data and methods, and reduces human error and labor costs. Unlike traditional cell culture methods such as the common Petri dish, Cell Drive™ provides increased control and convenience in a closed system.  The team is led by Aaron Hammons, a recent graduate of the Master of Science in Management program at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.  

Since the competition, IntelCell has raised approximately $1.2 million from the Huntsville Angel Network and completed a market analysis survey with hundreds of researchers nationwide with very favorable results. The company plans to begin the prototyping phase in the near future. IntelCell is currently incubated at BizTech.

Other Finalists:

AT Biosciences, LLC. (UAH) Team is led by Dr. Jason Feng, a research professor in the Department of Biological Science. AT Biosciences has developed molecular biomarkers for academic research and clinical diagnosis using a new patent-pending technology.

Distributed Carpet Nylon Recycling (Auburn) Team is led by Dr. Paul Swamidass, a Professor of Management at the College of Business. The company has developed a patented chemical process for recovery and recycling of nylon from waste carpet.

Facilitaire (UAB) Team is led by Ron Baldwin, a 2005 graduate of the Master of Science in Electrical Engineering Program. Facilitaire uses prototyped tools for improving communications between IT professionals and business managers using a pay-for-use online platform.

Physician Innovations (UAB) Team is led by Marc Krawitz, an alumnus of the Master of Business Administration Program. The company is a systems integration firm specializing in Electronic Medical Record (EMR) solutions for smaller medical facilities.

Q-Track (UAH) Team is led by Jerome Gabig. Q-Track uses patented wireless technology using near-field electromagnetic ranging to track people and physical assets indoors on a real-time basis.