WRAL Tech Wire

PhotoGenesis Wins First CUREs Event With Plans To Treat Neonatal Jaundice

PhotoGenesis, a startup focused on developing a low-cost means of treating neonatal jaundice in the developing world, took first place in the first CUREs business contest on Saturday at Duke University.

The team of six people, including Duke Pediatrician Dr. David Tanaka, has developed a light-emitting diode device for use with phototherapy as a treatment of jaundice. PhotoGenesis has developed a working prototype and has said it can produce the device for a cost of $191.

The current industry-leading product sells for $4,000, according to PhotoGenesis.

For winning the event, PhotoGenesis receives a package worth $100,000, including a year of incubation at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering.

Team members other than Tanaka are: Vijay Anand, Ryan Werstuik, Amit Joshipura, Randy Yamada and Henk Vreman.

CUREs stands for Competition for Underserved and Resource-Poor Economies, which is being put on in conjunction with the Duke Start-Up Challenge. The Duke business plan competition is one of the best known in the U.S. and features $70,000 in prize money.

CUREs was launched through Duke's Engineering World Health, a non-profit organization that is focused on improving health care technology in underserved nations.

The other two finalists were: Endeavor Medical and Global ImmunoDiagnostics.

Overall winners in the Duke Start-Up Challenge were:

1st: Cytex Therapeutics, which is developing a bio-artificial bone and cartilage composite material that will aid people in need of a joint replacement

2nd: Precision BioSciences, which is developing means of targeting and altering single DNA sequences.

3rd: Novelios, which is developing new means of treating glaucoma