Life Sciences Summit Competition Winners Unveiled
Officials from the Regenstrief Institute accepted the first place prize in the Inject Tech Challenge. (photo courtesy of Regenstrief Institute)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowBioCrossroads has unveiled the winners of two competitions at the 2018 Indiana Life Sciences Summit. The events include the inaugural Indiana Inject Tech Challenge, which focuses on the creation of new technologies designed to improve patient outcomes, as well as the BioCrossroads New Venture Competition.
The Regenstrief Institute in Indianapolis took the top prize in the Inject Tech Challenge. The institute is developing a platform to "effectively access and leverage social factors data to enable healthcare organizations to take further action and address the whole patient in order to attain better health outcomes. DigiBiomarker, also based in Indy, was the runner up for its platform which captures digital information directly from patients through their smartphones or a web application.
The 2018 New Venture Competition features early-stage biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic, ag-biotech or health information technology companies developing new products or platforms. The first, second, and third place winners were awarded $25,000, $15,000, and $10,000 in cash, respectively. The winners include:
- 1st Place: SalvePeds (University of Notre Dame) – The pharmaceutical company has developed a drug called ND-336, which is used as a topical therapy for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers.
- 2nd Place: OmniVis (Purdue University) – Has developed patented technology that uses a sensing technique to quantify and analyze biomolecular solutions directly at the source.
- 3rd Place: Novosteo (Purdue University) – Has developed a series of drugs that concentrate their healing power specifically to the site of bone fractures in an effort to reduce the morbidity, mortality and loss of productivity associated with such fractures.
BioCrossroads Chief Executive Officer David Johnson spoke with Inside INdiana Business Reporter Kylie Veleta at the summit and said these types of competitions and showcasing the state’s life sciences tech are important for Indiana, which is competing with other major cities throughout the country.
"If we can’t show our life sciences leaders that we have this kind of technology nimbleness and entrepreneurship and driving solutions into the life sciences area, which is historically a little bit different for some of the tech entrepreneurs because it’s a regulated business, it’s a different kind of field from some of the other challenges that the tech community has tackled here," said Johnson. "But if they’re not participating in that, then our life sciences leaders will go to other communities in which they are."