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Medtec Grand Prix KOBE2021 Preliminary Report: Grand Prize Won by RNart

2021/10/11

MEDTEC Grand Prix KOBE2021 was held on Saturday, October 9, 2021, at the Convention Hall of Kobe University's Center for Integrated Research and Innovation, and the Grand Prize and Company Prize winning teams were selected.

The Tech Planter concept has evolved to "Deep Issue & Deep Tech Explorer" since the 2020 season, which is a collection of science and technology to solve unsolved "deep issues" through "deep tech. Tech Explorer," which is a collection of science and technology to solve "Deep Issues" through "Deep Tech.

On the day of the event, the 12 finalist teams for the MEDTECH Grand Prix, selected from among the 316 teams that applied for the Tech Planter 2021 competition, passionately presented their ideas for solving problems by using MED-related technologies.

And the winner of the prestigious Grand Prize was "RNart".

Their theme is "Gene Therapy with Staple Nucleic Acid. In his presentation, Dr. Katsuta said he wanted to create safe drugs without side effects, and proposed a method to artificially induce the formation of RNA G-quadruplexes using short nucleic acids, which he named Staple nucleic acids, to suppress the protein translation reaction of the target. This technology offers a high degree of freedom in nucleic acid design and has the potential to eliminate the off-target effects that are the weak points of conventional nucleic acid drugs. With its excellent concept and solid scientific background, the award was given in anticipation of the birth of nucleic acid drugs originating in Japan.

Grand Prize winner RNart and the entire jury

List of Company Awards and Grand Prizes

Team Name	Theme name	winning (a prize)
Universal Bio Sampling, Inc.	Innovative high-throughput specimen testing system	SOMPO Holdings Award
HiLung Co.	Stem Cell Technology Revolutionizes the Respiratory Drug Discovery Process	Sysmex Award
Veneno Technologies, Inc.	Peptide Drug Development by Innovative Screening Technology	Daiichi Sankyo Award
Mill Ion Co.	Visualize any health history through hair testing
Liquid Mine Co.	Monitoring test for early detection of leukemia relapse	Meiji Holdings Award
Almed Co.	Creating a New Diagnostic and Therapeutic Agent for Dementia with Dreflin	Dai-ichi Life Holdings Award
aceRNA Technologies, Inc.	In vivo cell regulation and reprogramming by mRNA medicine	Senju Pharmaceutical Award
Restoration Vision Inc.	Development of a vision-regenerating gene therapy for retinitis pigmentosa	Kawarusaki Award
Bio IT	Protecting the World from Pandemics with Safe Man-Made Viruses	Kobe Medical Industry Development Award
RNart	Gene Therapy with Staple Nucleic Acid	Grand Prize Taisho FRC Award
Team AMATERAS	Realization of cell-level resolution and high-speed ultra-wide-field imaging	Real Tech Fund Award
liquid liver	Liquid liver development	Roth Prize

*From this year, the Real Tech Fund Award has been established as an award from Professional Supporters.

Outline of Implementation

Name of the Grand Prix: Medtec Grand Prix KOBE2021
Place: Convention Hall, Kobe University Center for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research (7-1-48 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan)
Date: Saturday, October 9, 2021, 13:00-19:00
Participation: Closed, pre-registration required (entry teams, partner companies, Super Factory Group, professional supporters)
Website: https://techplanter.com/medtech/2021/