Department Start-up Company Tops First Elevator Pitch Competition at CUHK Innovation Day 2022
Ynno Med Limited (YnnoMed), co-founded by Assistant Professor Xiao Yang of the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, won the first Elevator Pitch Competition held today (28th October) in conjunction with the 2nd CUHK Innovation Day. The inaugural Elevator Pitch Competition was the spotlight event of the University’s flagship exhibition showcasing the capacity and potential of CUHK scholars in transferring innovative knowledge acquired from research to industry.
Representing her team, Ms Karen Tsang, Junior Research Assistant to Professor Yang and Assistant Manager at YnnoMed, gave an eloquent appeal in two minutes to a judging panel comprised of veteran venture capitalists, as well as top officials from the Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer (ORKTS) of CUHK, Professor Benny Zee (Director of ORKTS) and Mr. Jonathan Chee (Head of Venture Acceleration, ORKTS). Upon delivering her key message, Karen addressed queries raised by panellists, all of whom gave a warm reception and expressed great interest in the prospects of Ynno Med Limited well beyond the scope of the competition. Besting 12 other rivalling teams representing TSSSU (Technology Start-up Support Scheme for Universities)-funded companies, YnnoMed was crowned the Champion of the competition and Karen received the prize on behalf of her colleagues.
The award to Professor Yang and her team at YnnoMed, who were both thrilled and honoured, served as an important token of recognition from real-world investors who are constantly seeking out nascent entrepreneurial ventures from CUHK researchers demonstrating great promise, market value and, as phrased by CUHK’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Sham Mai-har, “tangible societal impacts”. YnnoMed is grateful for all the encouragement and support from all parties at CUHK, funding bodies such as the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC), as well as various private investors and strategic partners, in its endeavours to bring pre-clinical and clinical findings to the market.
