April 21, 2010 – OmegaQuant LLC won first-place in the 2010 Giant Vision Business Competition held in Sioux Falls on Tuesday, April 20. The company earned $20,000 for securing first place and will have the opportunity to attend the 2011 national World’s Best Technology competition.

OmegaQuant was founded by Dr. Bill Harris and is located at the South Dakota Technology Business Center in Sioux Falls. The company provides the HS-Omega-3 Index® through health care providers and direct to consumers. This index is a new test that measures blood levels of the omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, which have been found to have benefits for heart, brain, eye and joint function

“We are very excited to have won this competition,” says Dr. Harris. “The entire application process provided us a great opportunity to continue to develop and refine our business strategy. This will enable OmegaQuant to meet the challenges of growth and continue to be a successful South Dakota company.”

Dr. Harris is an internationally recognized expert on how omega-3 fatty acids can benefit patients with heart disease. He has been the recipient of five NIH grants for studies on the effects of omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) on human health. He wrote over 80 publications on omega-3 and was co-author of the American Heart Association’s scientific statement, “Fish Consumption, Fish Oil, Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Disease” published in 2002 in the journal Circulation. Dr. Harris currently serves as the Director of the Cardiovascular Health Research Center at Sanford Research/USD in Sioux Falls, and is a Research Professor of Medicine at the Sanford School of Medicine at the University of South Dakota.

OmegaQuant COO Andrew Christianson grew up in Sioux Falls and says, "We've been working very hard and our efforts are paying off. I hope OmegaQuant can grow and prosper and give more college graduates a reason to come back to Sioux Falls to work and build a career in the sciences."

More information on OmegaQuant LLC and the HS-Omega-3 Index® can be found at www.omegaquant.com.