Biowest venture showcase: six finalists pitch business plans.

• Position: Bioscience Colorado: ELEVATED THINKING

These six selected startup finalists will pitch their technologies and business plans in front of a live audience to a panel of bioscience experts and venture capitalists. The winner will receive a $7,500 cash prize at the competition.

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Flashback Technologies Inc.

Flashback Technologies Inc. is developing and commercializing product applications of its novel, proprietary machine-learning software algorithm platform called CipherSensor technology.

The CipherSensor computational engine has the potential to provide ground-breaking, predictive "big data" analytical solutions across a variety of industries where making sense of growing volumes of industry-specific data is an increasing challenge in assuring optimal quality processes, productivity and outcomes.

The company's first product application is in the medical trauma setting. It enables the immediate, noninvasive detection of the risk for cardiovascular collapse and the monitoring of the effectiveness of fluid resuscitation therapy.

www.flashbacktechnologies.com

KromaTiD

KromaTiD makes products for analyzing defects and damage to human chromosomes. In 2012, the company is launching the first commercial platform for the discovery and detection of a recalcitrant class of DNA mutations known as chromosomal inversions, which cause disease.

KromaTiD's products have research and diagnostic applications in oncology, developmental disorders, infertility and other clinical conditions. KromaTiD supplies reagents, kits and custom probes to academic, government and commercial researchers worldwide. KromaTiD technology is licensed from Colorado State University; and has been developed with support from NASA, CSU, the state of Colorado and the Colorado Institute for Drug; Device and Diagnostic Development (CID4).

www.kromatid.com

Siva Therapeutics Inc.

Siva Therapeutics is developing a method for cancer therapy that promises to be safer, with fewer side effects, and is at least as effective as current therapies. Siva's approach is precision photo-thermal treatment of solid tumors using targeted gold nanorods--SivaRods.

The SivaRods efficiently absorb infrared light, and emit heat localized to the tumor mass. Siva's initial market will be skin cancer, where the company believes its therapy will provide the best course of treatment for approximately 50 percent of the 70,000 melanoma cases in the U.S. annually, and some 10 percent of all skin cancer cases, generating potential...