A UALR team developing a business plan to market a method of determining acetaminophen toxicity will make its oral presentation for two awards in the Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup business plan competition Thursday and Friday, April 8 and 9.

The three-member team – Acetaminophen Toxicity Diagnostics, LLC – made up of UALR College of Business students qualified as a finalist in the graduate competition and is one of three finalists in the graduate innovation category.

The Arkansas Reynolds Cup award ceremony is April 19. If the UALR team wins, it will move to the tri-state competition in Las Vegas May 18 to 20.

Team members include Rajdeepa Maity, who graduated in 2004 with a M.S. degree in biotechnology from VisVa-Bharati University in India and is a 2011 MBA candidate at UALR. With an interest in biotech companies, she would like to combine her science and management background to have a better understanding of financing biotech ventures.

Charles Eubanks of Jonesboro, who has a B.S. degree in accounting from Arkansas State University, is a 2012 MBA candidate at UALR and works at Crowne Plaza Hotel. Also on the team is Jennifer Fullington of Jonesboro who received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Arkansas State University. She is a 2011 candidate for an MBA and J.D. from UALR and is a law clerk at the Attorney General’s office.

They are coached by Joe Bell, associate professor of entrepreneurship in the UALR College of Business.

Acetaminophen Toxicity Diagnostics is a medical diagnostic equipment company that is currently developing a dipstick devise that can accurately and specifically diagnose acetaminophen-induced liver toxicity by measuring acetaminophen protein adducts in a blood sample.

Acetaminophen protein adducts are biomarkers specific to acetaminophen toxicity identification and are present in the blood up to 12 days after toxicity occurs. UAMS has a patent pending on this dipstick innovation that is expected to be a successful business venture because of its competitive advantage. The UALR graduate team has been working closely with the product developers and researchers at UAMS to create the business plan.

Acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol in Europe and Asia, is the major over-the-counter drug used for pain and fever treatment in the world. It is available in more than 300 products, such as Tylenol and Theraflu, and by prescription in drugs such as Percocet, Hydrocodone, and Oxycodone. Acetaminophen toxicity is the number one cause of acute liver failure in developed countries. However, research has shown that acetaminophen-induced liver damage can be stopped, and even reversed, when diagnosed and treated at an early stage.

The drug’s symptoms can mimic those of the flu, making it difficult to diagnose acetaminophen toxicity. As a result, individuals unintentionally overdose while self-medicating what they believe is a common cold and don’t get treatment until the fourth stage of toxicity.

The conventional method to detect acetaminophen toxicity is the Rumack Nomogram chart that is limited to a single, acute ingestion and a 24-hour window. This method is rendered useless in the majority of acetaminophen toxicity cases because they are the result of chronic acetaminophen use.

Hence, there is currently no comparable over-the-counter product in the market that can accurately and specifically diagnose acetaminophen-induced liver toxicity beyond a 24-hour window like Acetaminophen Toxicity Diagnostics.