Westway Health wins Seedcorn prize for non-antibiotic mastitis treatment
Galway-based Westway has been named Best Early Stage company in the 11th annual Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition. Neighbouring Galway firm Element Software has won €50,000 as Best New Start company.
A developer of medicines for humans and animals, Westway Health has also developed medicines to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria in humans such as MRSA. However, InterTradeIreland’s panel of judges singled out its PanaMast treatment as the most investor-ready product in the final of the all-island competition.
PanaMast is the first non- antibiotic solution for bovine mastitis, meaning farmers can continue to sell milk during and after treatment. As up to 80% of dairy cows exhibit some signs of infection at some stage each year, this will have a major impact on the bottom line of farmers and milk producers.
Westway Health chairman Vincent O’Flaherty, said: “The Seedcorn competition process was a great learning curve and we received invaluable feedback from investors, entrepreneurs and advisors regarding our pitch and business plan.
“The potential market for PanaMast is €1.5bn per annum from the major markets across Europe, the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. We are absolutely thrilled to have received this recognition from the Seedcorn judges, especially when we were up against such tough competition. The prize money will help us to fund formal clinical trials next year and advance towards our target of PanaMast hitting the shelves by 2017.”
Mastitis, an infection of the udder, is a major health and economic issue, costing the dairy industry in the EU and US over €3bn a year.
Conventional antibiotics are currently used to treat mastitis. However, traditional treatments have had poor outcomes, leading to culling of cows and lost milk revenues, as milk from cows treated with antibiotics must be withdrawn from sale for a period of time during and after treatment.
Seedcorn is the island’s largest business competition for new start and early stage companies To date, InterTradeIreland has supported more than 1,950 companies through the Seedcorn process with previous finalists going on to secure more than €174m worth of equity.
Bizimply from Dublin was also awarded the best venture stemming from a university spinout / support programme, with a cash prize of €10,000.
InterTradeIreland CEO Thomas Hunter McGowan said: “To be truly investor ready, it’s not all about the pitch and having a perfect presentation; the proposition, the substance behind it and the team are all key for potential investors.”
He said Seedcorn gives young companies, at a critical stage of their development, the chance to really put their proposition to the test: “Both Westway Health and Element Software have overcome extremely tough competition throughout the Seedcorn process and their success highlights that they are the bright stars for the future.”
