Student grudge match

John Agerholm, Martin Klint Hansen and Ninad Gujar

School name: University of Aarhus, Aarhus School of Business, Denmark

Team members: Jesper Eugen Olsen, John Agerholm, Martin Klint Hansen, Morten Ruhwald, Ninad Gujar, Pernille Ravn

Concept: Tuberculosis remains a global epidemic. Most hospitals and healthcare facilities use the century-old Tuberculin Skin Test to diagnose the disease. Using its new Cell Mediated Immune Response technology, Immutell hopes to bring TB testing into the twenty-first century.

Immutell plans to first create a blood test for the IP-10 biomarker, a molecule created by TB antigens. Its method promises to detect the marker more accurately and less expensively than today's methods. If successful, the technique could eventually be used to diagnose other infectious diseases such as chlamydia, gonorrhea and malaria.Immutell's team members hail from the worlds of finance, management, engineering, and science, and bring a combined 50 years of experience to the project. The company hopes to launch its product first in the European market and then bring it to the United States.

Timeline: Assuming FDA approval in 2008, Immutell's product should be on the European market in 2009 and in the U.S. by mid-2010. - Jennifer Lawinski

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