Zhang Qian

    zhqcindy@163.com

    GEORGE KOPSIDAS and his team are ready to present their biological science product at an innovation contest final that will take place Friday in Longgang District.

    This Australian team will be the second of 25 teams to present at the first China Shenzhen Innovation Competition of International Talents according to the number they drew Thursday.

    “To present at the beginning of the contest is not actually good timing for us,” said Kopsidas.

    Kopsidas is confident that their technology improves the efficiency of cancer drugs, but he worries it will be difficult for the judges to understand.

    “The project is complex but the intention is to help cure lung cancer, in particular, here in China,” said Kopsidas.

    Kopsidas formed a startup named Imunexus in Melbourne about one and a half years ago. It develops technology to boost the efficiency of cancer drugs.

    “We develop technology for all kinds of cancers, but for this contest, we picked the specific technology to target lung cancer,” said Kopsidas.

    According to Kopsidas, the number of patients with lung cancer has actually dropped in recent years in Australia, but the figure has grown at a staggering speed in China. “We believe China might be the biggest market for this kind of technology,” said Kopsidas.

    Money awarded at the contest is not the motivator for Kopsidas and his team. He wants to bring the technology to China and eventually establish an office in Shenzhen.

    Kopsidas heard about the contest from one of his colleagues. His team won second place at the preliminary contest at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia, which ended Tuesday.

    Twenty-five projects, which were selected after five preliminaries in Sydney in Australia, Munich in Germany, Tel Aviv in Israel, Tokyo in Japan and Silicon Valley in the United States, will compete for the top prize of US$880,000 in Longgang District on Friday.

    Two regional contests in Tokyo and Silicon Valley on March 26 and 27 attracted 280 teams. Ten projects, five from each contest, were shortlisted for the Shenzhen final. The projects cover biology and bioscience, advanced manufacturing, electronics and new energy.

    The March 16 contest in Tel Aviv attracted 90 local teams.

    During the 14th Conference on the International Exchange of Professionals (CIEP), which falls on Saturday and Sunday, the winning projects will get investment from a pool of US$100 million, which was put forward by 56 venture capital companies in Shenzhen. Some projects recognized by the organizers may also receive up to US$3.8 million in financial support from the government.

    The event is organized by the Shenzhen Municipal Government and co-organized by the Longgang District Government, the Shenzhen Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, and the Shenzhen Municipal Science and Technology Innovation Commission.