Sam Jactel is the CEO & Founder of Ayble Health. In 2014, he was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. He has experienced first-hand how hard it is to manage these kinds of conditions outside of the clinic and with Ayble, he’s building the solution he wished had existed when he was diagnosed.
Sam’s professional background is multidisciplinary but healthcare centric. Prior to founding Ayble, he led growth strategy and new product innovation at Ginkgo Bioworks, including helping bring the company public and selling employer-focused healthcare services (COVID-19 back-to-work testing), now a $400M P&L. He joined Ginkgo from health-technology venture capital at Flare Capital Partners, where he invested in tech-driven businesses tackling issues in real-world evidence, provider burnout, suicide prevention and women’s health. As a strategy consultant at Accenture, he advised Fortune 500 healthcare clients on new product launches, including market access, mergers & acquisitions and digital therapeutic modalities, both in the US and the EU.
Prior to Accenture, Sam led clinical research initiatives at Emory School of Medicine and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, focused on finding innovative ways to treat childhood GI conditions, cancers and infectious diseases.
Sam is a published author of 8 peer reviewed publications, two textbooks, and currently serves on the review board for the Department of Defense’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program for IBD, helping evaluate scientific research grants and allocate close to $500M to find a cure for Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.
Sam earned a B.S. in Biology and Philosophy from Duke University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern, where he was a Zell Fellow. He’s an avid (and award-winning) travel, landscape and portrait photographer in his spare time.
Kari Furu, PhD, is a passionate and solution oriented molecular biologist with broad experience in development and optimization of laboratory techniques and molecular assays. After completing her PhD and a postdoctoral fellowship in basic and cancer research, she made the transition to the biotech industry where her main focus has been in development of IVD assays. Kari joined Genetic Analysis, a Norwegian molecular diagnostic company with core focus on the microbiome, in 2016. She started as Development Manager before stepping up as the company’s’ Chief Technology Officer in 2021. With Genetic Analysis, Kari has managed multiple product development projects through cross-functional team leadership, including product design improvement projects aiming to increase robustness and cost-effectiveness of the company’s’ main product, the GA-map® Dysbiosis Test. She is experienced in design, production, installation, and servicing of IVD products in accordance with Design Control principles and ISO 13485. Together with the GA team, she is devoted to increase awareness of the microbiome and its impact on human health, as well as to the development of new diagnostic solutions based on microbiome profiling. Furthermore, as member of the management team in Genetic Analysis, Kari is dedicated to build strong teams and a fun and inspirational work environment.
Eric Zuckerman, DO, has been the Board Chairman of the Pediatric IBD Foundation since it’s inception in 2008. Dr. Zuckerman is a Michigan based ophthalmologist whose daughter was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease in 2003.
Dr. Zuckerman was selected to become an FDA patient representative in Pediatric IBD in 2012. Under Dr. Zuckerman’s leadership, the Foundation served as the lead co-sponsor of FDA’s Gastroenterology Regulatory Endpoints and Advancement of Therapeutics (GREAT 2) and GREAT 3 meetings. These groundbreaking meetings saw regulators, industry, and researchers at the same table in collaborative discussions about safety monitoring and streamlining drug approvals for children with inflammatory bowel disease. At GREAT 3, Dr. Zuckerman presented a model for a drug agnostic data sharing IBD registry to monitor drug safety called the Children’s REgistry for the Advancement of ThErapeutics, (CREATE). Continuing his work as an advocate for children with IBD, Dr. Zuckerman submitted testimony to Congress in support of a National Drug Safety registry for IBD. In addition to his work in the United States, Dr. Zuckerman has provided input on patient perspectives in drug development to the European Medicine Agencies. Through the Foundation’s web site and social media channels, Dr. Zuckerman regularly communicates with parents of children with IBD from all over the world. He frequently provides guidance to parents with educational information and resources, understanding from his own experience the challenges faced by families living with IBD.
Alex Menys is the CEO and founder of Motilent and Associate Professor at UCL. He completed his PhD in medical imaging analysis at UCL specifically in the assessment of gastrointestinal physiology with MRI. Motilent was founded to support researchers do higher quality research in a complex area but has grown rapidly with CE and FDA-cleared products used across the EU and US. Alex has placed high-quality research at the center of the business, and the world, to build trust with many of the top centers internationally, including Cleveland, Mayo, KU Leuven, UCL, AMC, Cincinnati, Mt Sinai and many more. Data from these sites is used as the primary tool to push the company forward.
NEW YORK September 20, 2022 — Lyfebulb, a patient-empowerment platform that connects patients with industry experts to support user-driven innovation, invites entrepreneurs to apply to the “Addressing Unmet Needs in IBD” Innovation Challenge in collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb. The Challenge is seeking a wide range of solutions to improve lived-experience and outcomes for individuals affected by inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) including:
Diagnostics, monitoring, and patient services
Disease education and awareness
System-wide improvements to care
Quality of life and mental health
Access and health equity
“Inflammatory Bowel Disease greatly impacts the everyday lives of patients and their loved ones, and there are many unmet needs that must be addressed. Through this challenge, we encourage innovative thinkers from all over the world to bring us new ideas and solutions to change the paradigm,” said Dr. Karin Hehenberger, CEO and Founder of Lyfebulb.
Selected applicants will receive an invitation to pitch their business ventures to an expert panel of judges composed of healthcare industry, medical, and patient leaders over the course of a two-day summit at Bristol Myers Squibb’s headquarters in New York, N.Y. on December 8-9, 2022. A total of $50,000 will be awarded to two finalists to further grow their companies. In addition to the pitch competition, finalists will have the opportunity to engage with representatives from the patient community, industry, Lyfebulb, and Bristol Myers Squibb leadership through learning hubs and informal networking.
“Through our partnership with Lyfebulb, our goal is to empower the IBD community to bring forward patient-driven solutions based on the everyday realities of this relentless and unpredictable disease, with the potential to make a profound impact on living with and caring for the condition,” said Gary Palmer, senior vice president of Immunology & Fibrosis Worldwide Medical, Bristol Myers Squibb. The competition is free to enter and open to U.S. and international applicants. Official eligibility criteria and terms and conditions can be found on Lyfebulb.com/Innovation-Challenges.
About Lyfebulb Lyfebulb is an innovation accelerator that bridges the gap between patient communities and the healthcare industry by working directly with patients and care partners to generate insights and build new solutions to reduce the burden of living with chronic disease. The company operates two digital patient communities, TransplantLyfe and IBDLyfe.
For more information: Lyfebulb Contact: Karin Hehenberger, MD, PhD CEO & Founder, Lyfebulb Phone: + 1 917-575-0210 Email: karin@lyfebulb.com
CHALLENGE TIMELINE
September 20, 2022
Applications Open
October 31, 2022
Submission Deadline
December 9, 2022
Finalist Announcement
January 25, 2023
Innovation Challenge
January 25, 2023
Winner Announcement
ABOUT THE SUMMIT AND AWARD
The goal of the 2022 Global Innovation Challenge: Addressing Unmet needs in IBD was to identify a wide range of innovative ideas and scalable solutions for better disease management and care. Unmet needs continue to afflict the everyday lives of IBD patients and their loved ones; we seek to change that, ultimately to improve outcomes and experiences for people affected by the disease.
The challenge accepted applications through October 2022. Selected applicants were shortlisted as finalists and received an invitation to pitch their ideas and business solutions over the course of a one-day summit at Bristol Myers Squibb’s headquarters in New Jersey. An expert panel of judges comprised of healthcare industry, medical, and patient leaders assessed the innovators. Prizes were awarded to two finalists to further grow their companies. The Innovation Award was presented to a for-profit company and includes $25,000. The Impact Award was presented to a not-for-profit company and includes $25,000.
In addition to the pitch competition, finalists had the opportunity to engage with representatives from the patient community, industry, Lyfebulb, and Bristol Myers Squibb.
Winner
Innovation Award
Kishore Pardasani is CEO and Founder of OstoBuddy, a simple, but powerful and convenient mobile platform for managing ostomy supplies, usage, output and health. Diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis 20 years ago, Kishore has since undergone numerous surgeries including removal of his colon in 2009. He was underwhelmed with the lack of technology solutions available to help ostomates manage their condition and devoted his time to develop OstoBuddy. The app has received accolades from high-profile bloggers as well as medical institutions and is being used globally to empower patients after life-changing surgery. Kishore is thrilled to have had the opportunity to donate his time to help the kids’ ostomy clinic in Kenya.
Kishore earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami in Computer Engineering and has over a decade of experience in Enterprise Customer Experience software sales. He is originally a native of Barbados where he met his wife and has since settled in Florida. In his free time, Kishore enjoys playing sports, traveling, volunteering, and spending time with family.
Kishore Pardasani
CEO and Founder
Winner
Impact Award
Tina Aswani-Omprakash is an award-winning Crohn’s advocate and patient leader based out of New York City. Tina maintains a blog and advocacy platform called Own Your Crohn’s (https://ownyourcrohns.com) and co-founded South Asian IBD Alliance (SAIA) (https://www.southasianibd.org/) to form a patient-clinician led non-profit initiative in order to minimize disparities and improve education in the growing South Asian IBD population.
Tina’s overarching aim is to normalize the rhetoric around chronic illnesses and disabilities in order to help diverse groups of patients own their ailments to live fuller, happier lives. Via her writing, lobbying, social media advocacy and speaking engagements, she spearheads public health causes, including those proposing research for and creating awareness for IBD, life-saving ostomy surgery, fistulizing disease and initiatives supporting health equity for women and racial & ethnic minorities.
Tina is pursuing her Master’s degree in Public Health at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine and will be graduating in 2023. Additionally, she has spoken at many premier GI conferences worldwide and has co-authored several research papers in prominent journals (JAMA, Gastroenterology, Crohn’s & Colitis 360), a guidebook on IBD care and a series of websites on Crohn’s-related ostomy surgery. Tina does consulting work as a patient advisor for non-profits, clinical research organizations as well as ostomy manufacturers, in addition to pharmaceutical and digital health companies. Her aim is to help companies recognize disparities and unmet needs in minority health populations.
Tina has been featured in The New York Times, on the cover of American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) Magazine and in Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News as well as Health Magazine for her trailblazing advocacy work. The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation recognized Tina in 2021 for her phenomenal leadership and powerful impact on the IBD community with the Above & Beyond Volunteer Award. Tina’s blog was also recognized as a 2020 Best Blog by Healthline and she was awarded the 2019 Healio Gastroenterology Disruptive Innovator Award by ACG for moving the needle on GI care for patients.
Diagnostics, monitoring, and patient services
Disease education and awareness
Quality of life and mental health
Access and health equity
System-wide improvements to care
Comorbidities
Target of Innovation
Patients, care partners, or industry professionals
Any stage of the patient journey
Criteria to Apply
Devices, technologies, products, and services
All stages of development welcomed
All countries welcomed
Individuals with registered companies
Drugs/therapeutics may not apply
Licensed/practicing HCPs may not apply
The Lyfebulb Innovation Challenge, in collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb, stems from the concept of the Lyfebulb Entrepreneur Circle established in 2015, which features individuals who have created a product and/or a company in response to their personal experiences with a chronic illness (through their own diagnosis or that of a loved one).
Lauren Erbach Barnfield is a Crohn’s patient, nonprofit professional and patient advocate. She is passionate about providing quality education programming for patients and caregivers and advocating for policy change and healthcare reform. When she’s not doing those things, she’s curled up with a good book, enjoying the outdoors, or listening to Hanson’s “String Theory” on repeat.
Lauren and her husband, two children, and too many pets reside in Norridge, Illinois.
Greg Lewis has over 21 years of working in the pharmaceutical marketing sector at large global agencies as well as small boutique shops. In 2019, he joined Calcium as President and Managing Partners – prior roles included Managing Partner at WPP’s Grey Health Group and President at Havas Health and You.
With a range of experience from biologics to toothpaste, and from large DTC-launched brands to specialty products, he has a keen understanding of the fundamentals needed to drive brand growth in today’s marketplace. He has acted as an integrated world-wide team lead on large global brands for J&J, Pfizer, and Bayer, yet he understands the nuances of becoming a trusted partner at more agile and entrepreneurial client organizations.
Greg has led multiple cross-functional marketing launches and campaigns including all on- and off-line professional promotion, medical education, pharmacy outreach, PR and DTC efforts. He likes to connect the dots and has served in lead integration roles as a Brand Chemist for JNJ’s anti-TNF Golimumab, a US Team Leader for Boehriger Ingelheim and as a Global Brand Leader over-seeing Pfizer’s Hematology portfolio.
Greg received a dual degree in marketing communications and political science from Villanova University. He has taken executive classes at the Tuck Business School at Dartmouth and the Harvard Business School. In 2017 and 2020, he was recognized as a Transformational Leader by PM360 and in 2020 was named as one of the 100 Most Inspiring People by Pharma Voice. He sits on two non-profit boards and lives in Mt Lakes, NJ with his wife and 5 children.
