NEW YORK , May 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lyfebulb, a patient-empowerment innovation accelerator that bridges the gap between patient communities and the healthcare industry, and CSL Behring, a global biotherapeutics leader driven by its promise to save and improve lives, are excited to announce that Dr. Minnie Sarwal of NephroSant was selected as the winner of the Lyfebulb-CSL Behring Innovation Challenge: Thriving with Transplantation.
NephroSant will receive the $25,000 monetary award to further develop diagnostic tools for early detection and lifetime monitoring of kidney health and injury, including a non-invasive transplant rejection test designed specifically for kidneys. Biohope Scientific Solutions received an honorable mention for its research and development of precision medicine in vitro diagnostic tools for chronic inflammatory conditions with the goal to optimize the immunosuppressive therapy in patients with kidney transplantation and in the future for other autoimmune diseases.
"It is inspiring to experience the innovation and passion these eleven finalists brought to this event and we look forward to seeing their products penetrate the market and help patients, their care partners, and their care teams generate better outcomes throughout the transplant journey. There is a huge unmet need in this market that patients and care partners know so well – to my family and me, it goes beyond the business and admiration for technology – as a double organ transplant recipient, it is also personal," said Karin Hehenberger , MD, PhD, CEO of Lyfebulb.
The 2021 Innovation Challenge took place virtually over two days on May 12-13 and was open to entrepreneurs motivated by a personal connection to organ transplantation developing new products and solutions to help organ transplant recipients, donors, care partners, and family members better manage their everyday challenges and improve overall quality of life. Eleven finalists were selected to compete at the Challenge and pitch their companies' solutions to a panel of independent judges from a range of industries, including experts in the areas of business, technology, healthcare, and patient advocacy. Finalists' solutions ranged from biotechnology platforms, medical devices to products for consumers and healthcare professionals and were chosen based on their potential to address the unmet needs of the transplant community and how their relationship to transplantation inspired the launch of their ventures.
"One of our core values at CSL Behring is turning innovative thinking into solutions," said Kevin Kovaleski , Vice President, Global Commercial Development, Transplant, CSL Behring. "That's the very essence of this challenge and why we are excited about seeing how all of these incredible ideas may someday make a difference for patients." To continue their commitment to patient entrepreneurship and to raising awareness about organ transplantation, Lyfebulb and CSL Behring will be hosting a Fireside Chat with Dr. Minnie Sarwal and two members of the jury on Tuesday, May 25 at 4:00pm . This virtual discussion is open to all members of the community, and more information may be found on Lyfebulb.com .
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 CSL Behring
CSL Behring is a global biotherapeutics leader driven by its promise to save lives. Focused on serving patients' needs by using the latest technologies, we develop and deliver innovative therapies that are used to treat coagulation disorders, primary immune deficiencies, hereditary angioedema, respiratory disease, and neurological disorders. The company's products are also used in cardiac surgery, burn treatment and to prevent hemolytic disease of the newborn.
CSL Behring operates one of the world's largest plasma collection networks, CSL Plasma. The parent company, CSL Limited (ASX:CSL;USOTC:CSLLY), headquartered in Melbourne, Australia , employs more than 27,000 people, and delivers its life-saving therapies to people in more than 100 countries. For inspiring stories about the promise of biotechnology, visit Vita CSLBehring.com/vita and follow us on Twitter.com/CSLBehring .
For more information:
Lyfebulb Contact:
Karin Hehenberger , MD, PhD
CEO & Founder, Lyfebulb
Phone: + 1 917-575-0210
Email: karin@lyfebulb.com
CSL Behring Contact:
Jennifer Purdue
External Communications Manager, CSL Behring
Phone: +1 610-306-9355
Email: jennifer.purdue@cslbehring.com
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SOURCE Lyfebulb