Lyfebulb and UnitedHealth Group Announce Winners of the 2018 Innovation Challenge for Patient Entrepreneurs
July 26 2018 - 9:00AM
Lyfebulb LLC and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) have selected Jon
Margalit of Complete Start as the winner of the first-ever Lyfebulb
and UnitedHealth Group Innovation Award “Empowering Patients: An
Innovation Challenge in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.”
Second- and third-place prizes were awarded to
Vik Kashyap of Toi Labs and Scott Sundvor of Nima Labs,
respectively.
The Innovation Challenge was open to established
companies of all sizes whose founders have been affected by
inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), whether as a patient or through a
loved one, and who have created a product or service to address an
issue encountered by IBD patients.
Jon Margalit founded Complete Start in 2017 to
provide convenient, nutritious breakfast shakes for IBD patients
and others seeking healthy meal replacement alternatives. Toi Labs,
started by Vik Kashyap, makes innovative toilet seats that collect
data from waste to improve health and wellness. Nima Labs was
founded by Scott Sundvor to launch the world’s first portable
gluten sensor.
“Each Innovation Challenge award winner has
launched a health care company with a mission and passion for
improving the lives of people afflicted with inflammatory bowel
disease,” said Dr. Deneen Vojta, UnitedHealth Group Executive Vice
President, Research & Development. “We believe their products
and services have great potential for getting to the market and
making the strongest impact on people’s health and quality of
life.”
Eleven finalists joined Lyfebulb and
UnitedHealth Group in Minnetonka for the two-day challenge. An
expert panel of judges selected the first-, second- and third-place
winners with awards of $25,000, $15,000 and $10,000,
respectively.
The panel included experts from the patient,
business and medical communities including Rebecca Babcock, a
Patient Ambassador at Lyfebulb; Shomit Ghose, General Partner at
ONSET Ventures; Dr. Karin Hehenberger, Founder and CEO of Lyfebulb;
Dr. Gerard Honig, Translational Research Manager at Crohn’s &
Colitis Foundation; Dr. Scott Ketover, President and CEO of
Minnesota Gastroenterology, P.A.; and Dr. Deneen Vojta, Executive
Vice President of Research & Development, UnitedHealth
Group.
“We salute each of our Patient Entrepreneur
finalists and UnitedHealth Group for helping us bring focus to
issues confronting and solutions for people affected by IBD,” said
Dr. Karin Hehenberger, Founder and CEO of Lyfebulb. “All our
Challenge participants share our vision of reducing the burden of
chronic disease. We appreciate the support of the IBD community in
sharing its insights into unmet patient needs and putting forth a
tremendous pool of applicants for this Challenge.”
IBD comprises a group of disorders in which the
intestines become inflamed, probably as a result of an immune
reaction of the body against its own intestinal tissue. The disease
category covers Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. About 3
million adults nationwide reported being diagnosed with IBD as of
2015, compared with 2 million adults in 1999.
About LyfebulbLyfebulb is a
chronic disease focused, patient empowerment platform that connects
patients, industry (manufacturers and payers) and investors to
support user-driven innovation. Lyfebulb promotes a healthy,
take-charge lifestyle for those affected by chronic disease.
Grounded with its strong foundation in Diabetes, the company has
expanded disease states covered into Cancer and Inflammatory Bowel
Disease.
See www.lyfebulb.com, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Karin
Hehenberger LinkedIn, and Lyfebulb LinkedIn.
About UnitedHealth
GroupUnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) is a diversified health
and well-being company dedicated to helping people live healthier
lives and helping make the health system work better for everyone.
UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of products and services
through two distinct platforms: UnitedHealthcare, which provides
health care coverage and benefits services; and Optum, which
provides information and technology-enabled health services. For
more information, visit UnitedHealth Group at
http://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/ or follow @UnitedHealthGrp on
Twitter.
Contact:
LyfebulbKarin Hehenberger, M.D., Ph.D.,
CEO917-575-0210; Karin@lyfebulb.com
UnitedHealth GroupTyler Mason424-333-6122;
tyler.mason@uhg.com
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