Oto Medicine Inc., an Ann Arbor-based company dedicated to treating and preventing hearing loss, took first place for Emerging Company at The Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest (GLEQ )contest. The $5000 award was in support of Oto’s first product, Auraquell™, the first FDA-approved pill to prevent noise-induced hearing loss.
The drug is intended to help prevent hearing loss in people who work in noisy environments, such as soldiers in the field or factory workers involved with heavy machinery.
Twenty-eight companies competed in either the Emerging Company or New Business Idea categories at Annual Collaboration for Entrepreneurship (ACE ’07) event in Ann Arbor with four walking away with cash awards.
Top winner in the New Business Idea category was KAK Enterprises for its automobile education and entertainment system.
The second phase of the GLEQ contest begins in February. Grand prize for the Emerging Company category is $25,000. For more information, visit GLEQ.