At the annual INVEST conference in Chicago that ended last week, four companies emerged superior in a pitch competition that featured 22 innovative startups competing across four tracks (two were unable to pitch due to personal commitments and flight-related emergencies).
Each company gave a four-minute presentation, followed by a question-and-answer session with the judges, all of whom were active venture capitalists. The winners were:
Biopharmaceutical track featuring oncology startup: miRecule
Devices/Diagnostics Track featuring Cardiology Startup: CoraVie Medical
Healthtech Payer/Provider Track featuring startups tackling burnout and operational efficiency: Samaritan
Health Tech Consumer/Employer featuring startups working on women’s health: Breastmilk is best.
Details of each company and the judges’ reactions follow.
Miracle
miRecule is a biotechnology company developing RNA therapies for cancer and muscular dystrophies. The company’s approach to drug design uses patients’ genomic data to create highly customized therapeutics designed to enable patients to live lives free from the debilitating symptoms of their disease. Its proprietary DREAmiRa platform uses genomic and outcome data from thousands of patients to identify the underlying genetic alterations that cause disease. This creates novel RNA therapies that can directly target and correct those genetic abnormalities. miRecule is currently using this platform to develop best-in-class therapies in its lead programs for head and neck cancer and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.
“All of the companies are impressive, but miRecule stood out due to its pioneering work in RNA therapeutics and track record of developing innovative therapies that address unmet medical needs,” Nancy Sullivan, CEO and managing director of Illinois Ventures, said in an email. “The company’s experienced leadership team and strategic partnerships with top research institutions and pharmaceutical companies strengthen its ability to efficiently bring new therapies to market.”
Coravi Medical
CoraVie Medical is a pre-revenue medical device company developing implantable continuous blood pressure monitors.
The end-to-end remote management solution detects dangerous blood pressure levels early and intervenes to prevent hypertensive crises that can lead to stroke, heart attack, kidney failure or death. CoraVie addresses the challenges of patient monitoring fatigue, measurement technique error and patient perception, providing clinicians with clinically actionable insights.
“High blood pressure is known as a ‘silent killer,'” Louis Kilongo, principal at Unorthodox Ventures, said in an email. “Accurate, continuous monitoring of blood pressure trends is crucial as it allows for early detection of elevated blood pressure and timely intervention before hypertension leads to serious complications such as stroke, heart attack, kidney failure and death. CoraVie should empower physicians to make necessary adjustments in a timely manner and optimize treatment plans based on reliable information.”
Samaritan
Samaritan provides social and financial assistance to those who want to help the homeless and those in need.
Capital to achieve housing and health goals. The company aims to help people achieve independence.
Members get a smart wallet and share their goals, needs and action steps. Members can share their goals, needs and action steps through social networks and
Financial assistance to meet needs and guidance to reach goals. Members do not need to have a phone, email, bank access, or legal documentation to participate.
“Samaritan is tackling a complex but urgent problem: solving engagement and health coordination for some of the most disengaged patients in the country,” Jane Lo, director of funds and AI at DaVita Ventures, said in an email. “We’ve been impressed with the passion and effectiveness this model has shown so far. Samaritan is poised to make an impact, and we’re excited to see how it can scale to lastingly change behavior and engage members.”
Breast milk is the best
The mission of Mother’s Milk Is Best is to provide premature babies with the added benefits of their own breast milk.
The company develops point-of-care breast milk concentrating devices designed to enhance breast milk concentration capacity.
It uses the mother’s own breast milk instead of other fortification processes.
“The main reasons we chose ‘Mother’s Milk is Best’ were the clinical validation by a team that works on this problem every day and the simplicity of the solution,” said Samir Batra, Managing Partner, HIP (Health Innovation Pitch).
Photos: Getty Images, Oat_Phawat
