Three Lakes Partners & MATTER announce winners of $1,000,000 IPF Catalyst Challenge
Advance Interactive Response Systems (AIRS), Owlstone Medical and patientMpower awarded $333,333 each; Level Ex wins $50,000 Audience Choice Award
On Wednesday, January 24, researchers, entrepreneurs and innovators from around the world gathered at MATTER for the conclusion to the $1,000,000 IPF Catalyst Challenge. Following presentations from nine finalists, Three Lakes Partners – a venture philanthropy committed to ending Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) – announced the challenge winners.
Congratulations to Advance Interactive Response Systems (AIRS), Owlstone Medical and patientMpower! Each winner received a $333,333 award to further develop their ideas.
In a surprise twist, audience members also had the opportunity to vote for their favorite solution. Level Ex took home the $50,000 Audience Choice Award.
The IPF Catalyst Challenge, first announced last April, invited innovators from around the world to participate in an ambitious challenge: design meaningful solutions to improve the quality of life of those living with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). Hundreds of innovators registered and more than 60 formal solutions were proposed.
MATTER CEO Steven Collens remarked on the event: “At MATTER, we believe collaboration is an essential ingredient to solving healthcare’s most complex challenges. The IPF Catalyst Challenge is a great example of what can happen when you bring together a diverse group of innovators to work towards a common vision. We were proud to be play a role in this journey and look forward to seeing where these ideas go next.”
About the Winners
AIRS
Proposed solution: Produce high-quality, portable oxygen safety and monitoring products that improve IPF patient health and caregiver performance.
Owlstone Medical
Proposed solution: A system used to capture breath samples and test for the presence of trace chemicals related to disease activity, for the early detection of IPF.
patientMpower
Proposed solution: A mobile platform that enables IPF patients to track their disease using integrated monitors, allowing them to better manage their treatment through new insights and connections with peers and caregivers.
Level Ex
Proposed solution: Educate the global physician community about IPF by using lifelike, virtual patients in a mobile video game to improve clinical decision-making at the point of care.
Commented Mayor Rahm Emanuel: “This challenge brought some of the world’s best innovators to Chicago to make a difference for those suffering from IPF. Congratulations to the winners and we look forward to seeing the difference you can collectively make in tackling this disease; and a special thanks to Three Lakes Partners and MATTER for your dedication to improving the lives of so many individuals and families across the world.”
The IPF Catalyst Challenge is one of the largest healthcare competitions in the United States, and the first time a cash and incentive purse of this magnitude has been put in place to help people with IPF. Three Lakes Partners collaborated with MATTER, IDEO and Common Pool to bring the challenge to life.
The other finalists that took part in the IPF Catalyst Challenge pitch event included the American Thoracic Society, Cambridge Respiratory Innovations Limited, Dolby Vivisol, Mayo Clinic Rochester, and the University of Chicago Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) Team.
Two of the winning teams, patientMpower and Level Ex, are MATTER members.