The winner was announced today by Agriculture and Food Minister Mark Wartman at the Geology Atrium at the University of Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food sponsored the BioVenture Challenge $50,000 grand prize.

"This is an important day for the province," said Wartman. "Saskatchewan has tremendous potential to be a major leader in the emerging bio-economy if we continue creating entrepreneurial opportunities. Today's award - which is hopefully the first of many - shows that our best young minds can achieve their full potential right here at home with their friends and families by their side."

The five finalists in the BioVenture Challenge spent the summer receiving intensive coaching and mentorship to refine their business plans. The completed plans were judged by a panel of experts from the ILO and industry. Floating Gardens Ltd. came out on top.

"The quality of business plans we received from these entrepreneurs was simply outstanding," said ILO managing director Doug Gill. "It was extremely difficult to choose just one from a slate of such excellent candidates. Congratulations to Rachel and Chris on their achievement."

Floating Gardens Ltd. will now receive $50,000 to proceed with their venture. The remaining four finalists will have their plans submitted to the Saskatchewan Angel Investors Network (SAINT) for consideration for funding.

The "final five" are:

* Winner: Plant sciences researcher Rachel Buhler and brother Chris with Floating Gardens Ltd. The enterprise is based on "aquaponics," a system that combines fish farming and hydroponics greenhouse techniques. The goal is to produce live fish for sale to the local Asian community, fresh fish for sale to a broader market, and fresh strawberries year round. The Buhlers plan to establish a production facility north of Saskatoon near Osler.

* Joel Campbell plans to further develop his commercial greenhouse facility to grow hardy fruit species. His goal is to promote development of fruit production in Saskatchewan and further diversify its agricultural economy. Campbell currently operates a test facility near Lumsden.

* Patrick Mah is developing a business based on an in situ bioremediation process. The goal is to rehabilitate soils at "brown field" sites - areas of contaminated soil that are often located in otherwise high-value urban locations. His potential customer base has been continually growing and currently lacks economically-viable remediation solutions. Mah's enterprise promises to allow previously contaminated sites to be re-used for both urban and commercial development. He plans to base his company in Saskatoon.

* Steve Mamchur has been working to develop hormone concentrates from natural plant sources that can be used in bio-identical hormone replacement therapies (BHRT). He has developed a prescription mixing process that will increase the number of pharmacies able to mix prescriptions from 400 to 7,500 in Canada alone. Mamchur sees the growing market for hormone replacement treatment creating an opportunity for his processes.

* Tyler Whale is developing a curbside collection company to gather and process compostable material. Whale intends to divert some of the more than 85 million kilograms of compostable waste that goes into Saskatoon's landfill every year. This will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and extend the landfill's lifespan.

The 2007 BioVenture Business Plan Challenge is a joint initiative of the U of S ILO and Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food to help promote, develop, and accelerate the bio-economy within Saskatchewan. It is open to recent U of S graduates who are less than 35 years old.

The ILO is dedicated to helping U of S researchers, faculty, staff, and students identify inventions arising from their research and to work with them to protect their intellectual property and help commercialize promising new technologies.

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For more information, contact:

Doug Gill
Managing Director
Industry Liaison Office (ILO)
(306) 966-7335
Doug.Gill@usask.ca
http://www.usask.ca/research/ilo

Michael Robin
Research Communications
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-2427
michael.robin@usask.ca
www.usask.ca/research