Lyfebulb and CVS Kidney Care have announced 10 finalists for the 2022 Innovation Challenge: Accelerating Innovations in Kidney Disease to Improve Health Equity and Outcomes. The finalists brought forward an array of strategic, creative and scalable concepts to make kidney care more understandable, accessible, and equitable, according to a Lyfebulb press release.
“Treatment options for those with the most advanced stages of chronic kidney disease have not changed in decades, and the ideas brought forward as a result of this challenge are energising,” said Jesse Roach, senior medical director, Health Equity at CVS Kidney Care. “For too long, outdated treatments have failed to meet the needs of many, and we look forward to hearing from entrepreneurs on how we can improve kidney health for everyone, especially historically underrepresented populations.”
According to the release, the potential impact on patients and their care partners, as well as the feasibility and sustainability of innovations in the market, were considerations in the selection of the following finalists:
- Sathya Elumalai, founder and CEO at Aidar Health
- Chet Bennett, founder at C Alan Foundation
- Bilal Naved, co-founder and COO at Clearstep
- Sharron Rouse, founder and executive director at Kindness for Kidneys International
- Linda Lusis, vice president of Strategic Partnerships at Mozzaz Corporation
- Jonathan Politzki, CEO at Nephra
- Minnie Sarwal, founder and CEO at NephroSant
- Dalton Shaull, co-founder and CEO at OmniLife
- Sarah Lee, co-founder and CEO at Relavo
- Shireen Abdullah, CEO at Yumlish
”We are very excited by this inspirational group of finalists who are not only committed to improving health outcomes for kidney disease patients, but also to improving their access to high-quality care,” said Karin Hehenberger, founder and CEO at Lyfebulb. “They demonstrate a high degree of creativity and the potential to successfully break down the barriers kidney disease patients face so that they may receive the care they need and deserve.”
The finalists will be joined by industry leaders spanning business, venture capital, technology and healthcare industries, as well as public officials driving change, for a two-day summit in Austin, USA from 18–19 May 2022. Each finalist will present their solutions to an expert panel of judges, with one winner set to be awarded a US$25,000 prize to further the growth of their company.
