Janssen and Johnson & Johnson Innovation Announce Next-Gen Baby Box QuickFire Challenge Finalists

HELSINKI, Finland, Nov. 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Janssen Research & Development, LLC, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, and Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC, in collaboration with Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, Tekes – the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, announced today the seven finalists in the Next-Gen Baby Box QuickFire Challenge focused on "the Baby Box of the future." The top finalists were selected from 135 total applicants from across the world (75 from North America; 44 from Europe, nine from Asia, five from Australia and two from South America) who contributed novel ideas to promote child health, detect childhood disease earlier and facilitate healthy parenting.

"Through the Next-Gen Baby Box QuickFire Challenge, we hope to nurture groundbreaking solutions for the future that contribute to the value of the successful Finnish Baby Box, an 80-year-old program that brings health essentials to newborns and parents," said Ben Wiegand, PhD, Global Head, World Without Disease Accelerator, Janssen. "With the backdrop of Slush, a premier health/tech startup event, finalists have a unique opportunity to secure support for their innovations, which could have an impact on the trajectory of health for infants in the future."

The seven finalists, who were provided structured mentorship over the past month, will pitch their ideas to a panel of judges on November 30, 2017 during Slush, one of Europe's leading start-up and technology events, taking place in Helsinki, Finland. Those interested in attending the Next-Gen Baby Box QuickFire Challenge event can join in person at 14:00 in Kokoustamo Meeting Room 102, or by Periscope/Twitter via @jnjinnovation. All finalists have been awarded a trip to participate in the pitch event taking place at Slush, and select winner(s) will receive up to $150,000 (USD) in funding, with potential for further funding toward future pilot programs in Finland. Select winner(s) may be eligible to receive additional funding through the achievement of proof of concept milestones that further validate the impact or outcome(s) of their ideas, and may be considered for future child health concepts or potential inclusion in "the Baby Box of the future."

The seven finalists are:

• Connido Ltd. – Bluebell is an innovative baby monitoring system that guides parents to improve the baby's routine and well-being in addition to their own health. 
• CallMidwife.com – Web-based and mobile app for pregnant women and parents that enables parents to monitor their pregnancy, diagnose various complaints and access home. treatment guidelines.
• Elemental Software – Elemental's Social Prescribing platform is an easy to use, cloud-based, responsive platform that enables community referrals to be implemented, measured and delivered across numerous health and social care scenarios.
• iDE8 Ltd. – A single-use, pain-free medical device for detecting the presence of elevated Glucose and Ketones for babies and toddlers.
• Kuura Health – 24 x 7 digital platform for all parenting and children's health related concerns, backed with artificial intelligence (AI) and clinical knowledge.
• Small World Social – Technology platform connecting expectant and new mothers with health care professionals and community coaches/volunteers for breastfeeding and new-born care support.
• Prapela LLC – Vibration technology that helps infants breathe, relax and sleep.

The QuickFire Challenges, an initiative of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS (JLABS) – the no- strings-attached incubators of Johnson & Johnson Innovation – seek to empower and enable ground-breaking science and health solutions, encouraging various stakeholders – students, entrepreneurs, researchers, start-up companies, etc. – to apply. The Next-Gen Baby Box QuickFire Challenge is part of the Janssen strategic focus to create a world without disease, shifting the paradigm from treating disease to maintaining health through prevention, interception and cure.  

For more information about the QuickFire Challenges, please visit: www.jlabs.jnjinnovation.com/quickfire-challenges

About the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies 
At the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, we are working to create a world without disease. Transforming lives by finding new and better ways to prevent, intercept, treat and cure disease inspires us. We bring together the best minds and pursue the most promising science. We are Janssen. We collaborate with the world for the health of everyone in it. Learn more at www.janssen.com. Follow us at Twitter.com/JanssenGlobal.

About Johnson & Johnson Innovation
Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC focuses on accelerating all stages of innovation worldwide and forming collaborations between entrepreneurs and Johnson & Johnson's global healthcare businesses. Johnson & Johnson Innovation provides scientists, entrepreneurs and emerging companies with one stop access to science and technology experts who can facilitate collaborations across the pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer companies of Johnson & Johnson. Under the Johnson & Johnson Innovation umbrella of businesses, we connect with innovators through our regional Innovation Centers, JLABS, Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC, Inc. and our Business Development teams to create customized deals and novel collaborations that speed development of innovations to solve unmet needs in patients. For more information please visit www.jnjinnovation.com.

About Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS
Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS (JLABS) is a global network of open innovation ecosystems, enabling and empowering innovators to create and accelerate the delivery of life-saving, life-enhancing health and wellness solutions to patients around the world. JLABS achieves this by providing the optimal environment for emerging companies to catalyze growth and optimize their research and development by opening them to vital industry connections, delivering entrepreneurial programs and providing a capital-efficient, flexible platform where they can transform the scientific discoveries of today into the breakthrough healthcare solutions of tomorrow. At JLABS we value great ideas and are passionate about removing obstacles to success to help innovators unleash the potential of their early scientific discoveries. JLABS is a no-strings-attached model, which means entrepreneurs are free to develop their science while holding on to their intellectual property. JLABS is open to entrepreneurs across a broad healthcare spectrum including pharmaceutical, medical device, consumer and digital health sectors.

JLABS currently has eight locations in innovation hot spots across North America and produces entrepreneurial programs and campaigns to seek out the best science, like the QuickFire Challenges around the globe. The JLABS flagship opened in 2012 in San Diego at Janssen's West Coast Research Center, and since then, has established two locations in San Francisco - one through a collaboration with the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3) and a second standalone facility in South San Francisco. JLABS is also located in Boston through a collaboration with LabCentral, in Lowell, Massachusetts through a collaboration with UMass, in Houston through a collaboration with the Texas Medical Center (TMC), in Toronto through a collaboration with the Ontario Government and the University of Toronto and a new JLABS @ NYC (in collaboration with the New York Genome Center) opening in 2018.

SOURCE Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies

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