David Schoen is the Co-Founder and CEO of GI Trak. As a Crohn’s patient since he was 8 years old, David understands the frustrations of navigating through life while trying to manage and control the disease. He founded GI Trak as a way to bridge the patient-provider communication divide by providing a virtual clinic for all IBD needs. David brings with him over 15 years of business experience in management, sales, and business development. Before founding GI Trak, he co-founded higher education programs in Israel geared towards undereducated individuals to help guide and matriculate them into universities and the workforce.
In his free time, David volunteers at the Jewish Crohn’s & Colitis Support Group, which helps connect IBD patients with the proper doctors and helps guide patients through the effects of the disease. David is also an advisor of another startup, Trufyx, where he uses his experience as a founder to help advance the company through its early stages. Using his real-life experience and his vast network, David has bult a platform that is already a proven success for its users.
Dr. Avi Dukler is an entrepreneur and executive with global experience in strategy, product development, commercialization, reimbursements, and general management of worldwide teams, including Israel, Europe, and the US. Avi has managed biomarkers’ discovery, clinical development, and regulation and commercialization of two personalized medicine clinical diagnostic products. Dr. Avinoam Dukler is the Managing Partner & President of Glycominds, LLC. Dr. Dukler holds a PhD in Biotechnology from Tel Aviv University, Israel and is an entrepreneur with more than 23 years of leadership and global experience in biomarker discovery, clinical validation, product development, reimbursement, and commercialization. Dr. Dukler is also Co-Founder, CEO & President of Kepler Diagnostics, Inc, company that is developing and commercializing Samplla®, a proprietary dried-specimens technology.
In building Oshi Health, Sam Holliday combines his passion for redesigning healthcare around the needs of patients with a mission to increase access to the high-quality, whole-person care that two of his family members have needed to manage their digestive conditions. He has held leadership roles across healthcare technology and tech-enabled services companies focused on improving population health. These include scaling a tech-enabled diabetes management company, a data-driven health system patient acquisition platform, and population health tools for a leading electronic medical record (EMR) company.
Sam lives in New York City with his family and enjoys spending time deepening his knowledge of how our bodies and brains work and cheering on Philadelphia sports teams and NYCFC.
Vik Kashyap is the CEO and Founder at Toi Labs, a Silicon Valley-based company developing bathroom technology to improve aging. He has led companies to build products that today touch millions of consumers. Vik has been quoted or authored in Science Translational Medicine, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and The New York Times. He is the author of multiple patents and an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist in Northern California. He was previously an investor at Battery Ventures, where he executed and supported investments for a $1 billion technology venture capital fund and has served as an angel investor and senior advisor to multiple technology companies, including the largest enterprise software company in Japan. He is a graduate with honors from Harvard University.
Mary Pettigrew is a freelance writer/blogger from Dallas, Texas. Her writing is multigenre in nature, with a focus on poetry, prose, essay, narrative interview. She is an ambassador & patient advocate for multiple sclerosis (MS), chronic illness, IBS/D, mental illness & disability rights. In 2014, Mary founded MSpals, an online support organization which has a global outreach on Twitter, Facebook & other platforms. In conjunction with MSpals, Mary created a group geared specifically for those with chronic illness & disabilities to post/share art, music, writing, etc. The group is called “Creative Expression” & can be found on Facebook.
Mary is active with the NMSS (National MS Society), HealtheVoices, WEGO Health and other patient leader/ambassador platforms.
CHALLENGE TIMELINE
April 8, 2021
Applications Open
May 28, 2021
Submission Deadline
June 29, 2021
Finalist Announcement
September 9-10, 2021
Innovation Challenge
September 10, 2021
Winner Announcement
WINNER
Dr. Atray Dixit co-founded Coral Genomics after finishing his graduate work in 2018 with the mission of understanding and reducing variability in therapeutic response for all patients. In this role, he works with a diverse team and key external stakeholders in the healthcare system. In Aviv Regev’s lab at the Broad Institute, he focused on developing novel methods for high throughput genetic screening. In 2016, he led a team to develop Perturb-seq, a technology which allows genetically encoded perturbations (like CRISPR edits) to be screened using single-cell RNA-seq. Atray also developed new methods to enable large combinatorial screens such as Shuffle-seq. He translated the big data skills he learned through these projects during a brief externship at Apple’s Applied Machine Learning division. Atray received his BSE in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University in 2012 and his PhD through MIT’s Health Sciences and Technology program.
Atray Dixit, PhD
Co-Founder & CEO
HONORABLE MENTION
Asaf Kraus, Dieta’s Co-Founder and CEO, is an IBS patient and an experienced data scientist. The combination of his professional experience as a data scientist and his personal struggle with digestive disease drives his passion for Dieta Health’s mission to improve digestive health using data and AI. With eight years of professional experience as a data scientist, Asaf used data to uncover valuable insights for innovative technology companies such as Uber, Accenture, and Trulia. He was afflicted with severe IBS in 2017, which changed the course of his life. While spending months consulting various GI clinicians and experimenting with dozens of complicated treatment options, Asaf observed the lack of data and personalization in modern gastroenterology. And during that journey, he began to envision an AI-driven future of gastroenterology care, which Dieta Health is now building.
Asaf Kraus
Co-Founder & CEO
ABOUT THE SUMMIT AND AWARD
Rooted in Lyfebulb and Arena’s shared commitment to continuous innovation in patient care, the Imagining Life Without Limits – An Inflammatory Bowel Disease Innovation Challenge seeks to source innovative solutions to better equip inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients, support partners, and all those affected by the disease with the tools to help manage disease, navigate daily life, and improve overall quality of life.
The Innovation Challenge, sponsored by Arena, will take place virtually in September 2021 and is currently accepting applications from innovators through May 28, 2021 to participate in the Challenge. Entrepreneurs personally affected by IBD – as a patient or as a support partner for a loved one – developing solutions to an unmet need identified in their disease journey are especially encouraged to apply.
Selected applicants will receive an invitation to pitch their ideas and solutions to an expert panel of judges comprised of healthcare industry, medical, and patient leaders over the course of the two-day summit in September. One winner will be selected to receive a $25,000 monetary award to further the development of their solution. Competing finalists may be considered by Arena for possible partnerships or investment opportunities beyond the Challenge.
In addition to presenting their innovative ventures, the finalists will have the opportunity to exchange ideas on how to further advance patient innovation in IBD and engage with Lyfebulb founders, Arena leadership, representatives from the IBD patient community, key opinion leaders, and potential investors.
What is the strategic basis for the identified problem/gap (e.g., research conducted)?
How is the problem/gap being specifically addressed?
IMPACT
Does the innovation have the potential to improve the lives of people affected by IBD?
How great of an impact (market impact and patient impact) will the innovation make and how will it be measured?
MARKET FEASIBILITY
How is the product or service unique to the market?
What is the feasibility of development and implementation into the marketplace (e.g., funding, regulations, requirements for testing)?
CRITERIA FOR APPLYING TO THE INNOVATION CHALLENGE
Lyfebulb and Arena are seeking a wide range of solutions to improve outcomes and experiences for all those affected by IBD. Applying companies must be registered in the United States.
Solutions may include, but are not limited to, the following criteria:
INNOVATIONS
Directly aid better management of IBD
Support physical well-being, mental health, or co-morbidities
Generate disease awareness
CATEGORIES
Devices
Healthcare IT
Consumer products
STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
Ideas stage
Early development
Mature development
THE CHALLENGE IN NUMBERS
8
APRIL
Applications open on Thursday, April 8, 2021
28
May
Applications close on Friday, May 28, 2021, at 11:59 PM EDT
2
Days
The virtual Challenge will take place September 9-10, 2021
$25
Thousand
One entrepreneur will be awarded the 2021 Lyfebulb Innovation Award, sponsored by Arena, which includes $25,000
The Innovation Challenge is one component of a larger sponsorship between Lyfebulb and Arena to strengthen and engage the IBD community, support the sharing of experiences and insights, identify promising and impactful solutions, and ultimately change lives.
The Lyfebulb Innovation Challenge, sponsored by Arena, stems from the idea 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).
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. Lyfebulb operates across 11 disease states and counting.
ARENA Pharmaceuticals is a team with a singular purpose – deliver important medicines to patients. In a rapidly changing treatment landscape, we work with a sense of urgency every day to identify the needs of the GI community and identify bold, sometimes disruptive, ideas to get medicines to patients. It’s our determination to help improve the lives of millions of people suffering from GI disorders that inspires us all to relentlessly execute, until it’s done. ARENA – Care More. Act Differently.
Winning Entry to Receive $25,000 Award
NEW YORK, NY, USA –April 8, 2021– Lyfebulb, a patient-empowerment platform that connects patients with industry to support user-driven innovation, and Arena Pharmaceuticals, a company focused on developing innovative therapeutics for immune-mediated conditions, invite entrepreneurs with innovative ideas and solutions to apply to the Imagining Life Without Limits – An Inflammatory Bowel Disease Innovation Challenge.
The goal of this initiative is to source a wide range of solutions to better equip patients, support partners, and all those affected by inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with innovative solutions to manage disease, navigate daily life, or improve overall quality of life. Categories of innovation include devices, healthcare IT, and consumer products. Stages of development may range from early to mature development. Entrepreneurs personally affected by IBD – as a patient or a support partner for a loved one – developing solutions to an unmet need identified in their disease journey are especially encouraged to apply.
“Patients and their loved ones possess incredible insights and are uniquely positioned via lived experience to identify new business solutions to combat the burdens afflicted by chronic disease,” said Dr. Karin Hehenberger, CEO and Founder of Lyfebulb. “Through this call-to-action, we at Lyfebulb and Arena seek to find these unique solutions and accelerate their growth to improve the lives of all those living with IBD.”
Selected applicants will receive an invitation to pitch their business ventures to an expert panel of judges comprised of healthcare industry, medical, and patient leaders over the course of a two-day virtual summit in September 2021. One winner will be awarded a $25,000 monetary award to further the development of their solution. Competing finalists may be considered by Arena for possible partnerships or investment opportunities beyond the challenge.
“We are proud to be working with Lyfebulb to shine a light on patient entrepreneurs and the solutions they’re developing to address the daily challenges of patients with IBD,” said Amit Munshi, CEO of Arena Pharmaceuticals. “All of us at Arena are committed to furthering innovation that helps improve the lives of IBD patients and caregivers.”
Applicants may apply now through Friday, May 21, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Lyfebulb.com. The competition is free to enter. Official eligibility criteria, and terms and conditions can be found on the Lyfebulb website. Applying companies must be registered in the United States.
About the Lyfebulb and Arena Partnership
Rooted in the collaborative spirit of the Lyfebulb and Arena partnership and a shared commitment to continuous innovation in patient care, the 2021 Innovation Challenge endeavours to strengthen and engage the IBD community, support the sharing of experiences and insights, identify promising and impactful solutions, and ultimately change lives. The Innovation Challenge is one component of a larger sponsorship between Lyfebulb and Arena to partner directly with IBD patients, support partners and community leaders to accomplish these goals.
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. Lyfebulb operates across 11 disease states and counting. See Lyfebulb.com, TransplantLyfe.com, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Karin Hehenberger LinkedIn.
About Arena Pharmaceuticals
ARENA Pharmaceuticals is a team with a singular purpose – deliver important medicines to patients. In a rapidly changing treatment landscape, we work with a sense of urgency every day to identify the needs of the GI community and identify bold, sometimes disruptive, ideas to get medicines to patients. It’s our determination to help improve the lives of millions of people suffering from GI disorders that inspires us all to relentlessly execute, until it’s done. ARENA – Care More. Act Differently.
Nathalie Garcia was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when she was just 16 years old following an accident during high school. Before her diagnosis, she was extremely familiar with IBD as her brother almost lost his life due to ulcerative colitis following a misdiagnosis from lack of medical testing. As a result, she grew passionate about improving health literacy and patient advocacy from realizing the flaws in accessing specialized medical care firsthand. Nathalie is now a Crohn’s and Colitis Young Adults Network Fellow and hopes to share her story with other members of the IBD community to reassure others they are not alone. Her experiences with multiple medications and the psychological and physical effects of IBD have increased her awareness of how IBD affects those diagnosed on a spectrum. She hopes to pursue a career in healthcare and continue her advocacy journey alongside Lyfebulb to inspire others to find hope in spite of their chronic illness and advocate for innovative resources for those with IBD.
Dr. Scott Ketover proudly serves as the President and CEO of Minnesota Gastroenterology, one of the largest independent gastroenterology practices in the country. He is also the Chairman of the 3,000-physician member Allina Integrated Medical Network, an ACO. Dr. Ketover previously served as the Founding President of the Digestive Health Physicians Association, a national patient care advocacy organization of 1,800 independent gastroenterologists, and he is the Founding President of the 1,100-physician member Digestive Health Network. In addition to his clinical interests, he is also deeply committed to physician leadership and practice management, and is a Fellow of the American Gastroenterological Association.
Watch the replay here:
Join us for an informal, chat-style discussion between two Lyfebulb Patient Entrepreneurs who have created business solutions based off of their personal experiences with IBD. Jon Margalit, CEO & Founder of Complete Start and Danny Bernstein, Founder & Chief Product Officer of metaMe Health lightly moderated by Lyfebulb CEO Karin Hehenberger, MD, PhD. Both individuals really exemplify how having a personal connection to chronic disease can enable great innovation. Do you want to hear how others in the IBD community have created solutions from their experiences, as well as what the future of IBD innovation may look like? This event, part of our fireside chat series, will spotlight innovative solutions and adaptations, developed by patient entrepreneurs, in order to reduce the burden of IBD. We will be sure to discuss what patient entrepreneurship means as well as why individuals with a personal connection are uniquely positioned to create innovative solutions.
