Thirteen Finalists Chosen for Boehringer Ingelheim and Ashoka Changemakers "Making More Health" Competition

WASHINGTON and INGELHEIM, Germany, Nov. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Boehringer Ingelheim and Ashoka Changemakers have announced that thirteen finalists have been selected in the first Boehringer Ingelheim Making More Health competition. The online competition is part of a three-year global initiative to identify and support the most promising solutions to challenging health problems around the world. The public is now invited to vote to determine the competition's three winners, who will each receive a $10,000 (US) cash prize to help further their idea.  

The finalists, selected from more than 470 entries received, represent the most innovative and promising solutions from around the globe that are transforming the field of health. Finalists were selected by the competition's panel of expert judges, which included Aman Bhandari of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Carol A. Dahl, executive director of The Lemelson Foundation, and Andreas Barner, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors for Boehringer Ingelheim.

The goal of the Making More Health competition is to identify and support innovations with the potential to shape the future of the health sector for the benefit of individuals, families, and communities. Entries addressed a broad range of health and healthcare challenges from prevention and lifestyle, to detection and treatment. The 13 finalists represent the most innovative solutions for improving health systems in these areas.

"The Making More Health competition reflects Boehringer Ingelheim's commitment to supporting leadership and innovation in healthcare and to improving health for individuals, families, and communities," said Jean Scheftsik de Szolnok, Vice-President Southern Europe for Boehringer Ingelheim. "By identifying and supporting new approaches to healthcare delivery we are helping to ensure a sustainable future in which good health for everyone is possible."

The finalists in the first Making More Health competition are:

• Affordable, Quality Health Care and Services for the Underprivileged, Pakistan
• ColaLife: Piggybacking Simple Medicines on Cola Supply Chains, to Save Lives in Underserved Rural areas in Africa, Zambia
• Cool2Care - Tackling Disability by Connecting Young Curers with Families in Need, United Kingdom
• eDOTS: Demanding Reliable Results from Tuberculosis Treatment, India
• E HealthPoint Transforming Rural Healthcare, India
• A Life-Saving Diagnosis: Sample Transport, Reducing the Time Delay in Monitoring and Diagnosing HIV and TB, Lesotho
• miraclefeet: Preventing Unnecessary Disability Caused by Untreated Clubfoot Around the World, United States
• Pathways to Wellness: Integrating Refugee Health and Well-Being, United States
• RevoLOOtionary: Developing Rural Markets for Sanitation, Cambodia
• SMS Now! A Life Depends on It, India
• Saude Crianca: Holistic Health Solutions for Families in Favelas, Brazil
• Sustainable Sanitation in Urban Slums: The Path to Permanently Reducing Sanitation-Related Disease, Kenya
• Unite For Sight, Ghana

The public can vote at www.changemakers.com/morehealth and from the Changemakers Facebook page through November 30, 2011. Winners will be announced on December 7, 2011.

About Boehringer Ingelheim

The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world's 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 145 affiliates and more than 42,000 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel products of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.

As a central element of its culture, Boehringer Ingelheim pledges to act socially responsible. Involvement in social projects, caring for employees and their families, and providing equal opportunities for all employees form the foundation of the global operations. Mutual cooperation and respect, as well as environmental protection and sustainability are intrinsic factors in all of Boehringer Ingelheim's endeavors.

In 2010, Boehringer Ingelheim posted net sales of 12.6 billion euro while spending almost 24% of net sales in its largest business segment Prescription Medicines on research and development.

www.boehringer-ingelheim.com

About Ashoka Changemakers

Ashoka Changemakers is an online community of action that connects social entrepreneurs around the globe to share ideas, inspire, and mentor each other. Through its online collaborative competitions and open-source process, Changemakers.com is one of the world's most robust spaces for launching, discussing, and scaling-up ideas to solve the world's most pressing social problems. Changemakers builds on Ashoka's three-decade history and vision for an "Everyone a Changemaker" world by creating a place where the best ideas in social innovation can be shared, refined, and funded.

www.changemakers.com

SOURCE Boehringer Ingelheim