Radiation Therapy Breakthrough Startup Beats Largest-Ever Field of Competitors

BY SHAWN PIATEK

The Tribune-Democrat

spiatek@tribdem.com

Windber, PA , July 15, 2006 – For more than three years, Jay McClatchey and Andy Holland have operated a business that has yet to generate any revenue.

McClatchey and Holland, partners in Applied Computational Technologies, based at the Windber Research Institute, have spent the time developing the business and perfecting their flagship product, ProACTive. The partners are expecting to release the software application, used in the radiation-treatment planning process, by year-end.

Meanwhile, they will be presented with the $35,000 top prize this morning by Ben Franklin
Technology Partners for winning the Big Idea Business Plan Contest.
That will help pay the bills.

"In our situation, where we're not yet generating revenue, winning this type of contest is
extremely important," said McClatchey, the managing partner. "Every dollar that comes in here puts us one step closer to getting this life-saving technology into the hands of doctors."
John Johnston, regional director for Ben Franklin, said ACT won the contest because of the
complexity of their business in addition to the company's well-written and -defined plan for
breaking into an industry largely dominated by major medical companies.

ACT won the contest over a strong field of competitors, Johnston said.
"They really have a higher wall to leap than some of their competitors in the contest because theirs is a very challenging business to execute," Johnston said. "But based on the details of their plan and how they are going to attack the market with the real weight of their discovery and the perseverance they have shown for the last three years, they certainly deserved to win the prize.

"And they were up against some stiff competition. It wasn't a walk-away. This was probably the best group of competitors we have ever had."  Holland, the technical partner, credited McClatchey with developing the plan.  While Holland provided technical support during the contest, he said McClatchey was able to make a complex subject more easily understood.
"He wrote a heck of a plan," Holland said. "I helped out where I could, but he really did the bulk of the work."