Who won the MedCity INVEST Pitch Perfect competition?

July 27, 2020

Last week at MedCity INVEST, our Pitch Perfect competition spotlighted presentations from healthcare startups in five categories: health services, health IT, medical devices, biopharma and diagnostics. Five companies competed in each track. It may have been a virtual event this year but each of the finalists who presented proved that a conversation about healthcare innovation needn’t be an in-person experience to resonate with its intended audience. And now, here are the winners with comments from judges who served in each of the tracks.

Health Services:  Atentiv

Comments from judges:

“In the U.S., there are over 20 million people suffering from ADHD.  Pharmaceutical treatments are far from ideal, with challenges including side effects, efficacy, and adherence,” said Adam Dakin, Managing Director for HealthTech with Dreamit. “There is a large and compelling market opportunity for a digital based therapy that reduces or eliminates the need for medication. The judges were impressed by Atentiv’s clinical rigor and evidence based approach. The platform’s favorable outcomes are validated by ten studies and seven peer reviewed publications.  The pandemic is a strong tailwind for the company as this type of therapy must be delivered through virtual home care.”

Health IT:  Luma Health

Comments from judges:

“We liked the comprehensiveness of Luma Health’s patient engagement platform and felt the company has demonstrated compelling initial traction in a product category that will soon be table stakes across the industry,” said Austin
Duke, Ph.D., Venture Associate, UnityPoint Health Ventures.

Medical Devices: Sense Neuro

Comments from judges:

“Improving triage of potential stroke patients continues to be a significant critical unmet need. Sense Neuro provides a potential approach that is easy to use, can fit within the EMT and ED workflows and has shown early evidence of accuracy as compared to gold standard,” said Amy Len Kobe, Vice President, Baird Capital.

“Sense Neuro is addressing a large unmet clinical need in severe brain injuries where time to diagnosis is a significant factor in determining the overall outcome of a patient—their solution appears to be able to meaningfully improve on the current standard of care,” added Garheng Kong, MD, Managing Partner, HealthQuest Capital.

Biopharma: Pleiogenix

Comments from judges:

“Pleiogenix, which is a clinical-stage company, is addressing a tremendous unmet need in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) since there are no FDA approved therapeutics. I also liked that there was a potential COVID-19 application,” said Elise Miller Hoffman, Principal, Life Sciences Funds I & II, Cultivation Capital.

“They have a really smart business model and executive leadership with a proven track record of getting products through clinical trials,” added Christalyn Rhodes, Ph.D., Scientific Advisor, Eli Lilly.

Diagnostics: Amplified Sciences

Comments from judges:

“[Amplified Sciences] stood out to me because their product solves a clear unmet need, provides a definitive diagnostic answer that drives clinical decisions, does not disrupt existing physician workflow and does not add costs to the system – all the elements necessary to build a successful diagnostics company,” said Navneet Alag, Vice President, H.I.G. BioHealth Partners.

Thanks to our partner, MHIN. Thanks to our sponsors: J.P. Morgan, UnityPoint Health Ventures, BioEnterprise, and TriNet.