OstoBuddy and South Asian IBD Alliance Named Winners of Innovation Challenge, in Collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb, to Address Unmet Needs in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

News provided by

Jan 26, 2023, 09:32 ET

PRINCETON, N.J., Jan. 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lyfebulb, a patient-empowerment platform that bridges patients with industry to support user-driven innovation, education, and connectivity, is pleased to announce the winners for the Innovation Challenge "Addressing Unmet Needs in IBD" in collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb. OstoBuddy was selected as the winner of the Innovation Award and South Asian IBD Alliance ("SAIA") as the winner of the Impact Award.

OstoBuddy was represented by Kishore Pardasani, Founder and CEO, and will receive a $25,000 monetary award to further develop its innovative mobile and web application for people with ostomies to reduce stress associated with coordination and management of ostomy supplies. SAIA was represented by Tina Aswani-Omprakash, Co-Founder and President, and will receive a $25,000 monetary award to further develop its initiatives to meet unique medical, surgical, nutrition and psychosocial needs within the South Asian IBD community.

The Innovation Challenge took place in Princeton, NJ on January 25, 2023. Finalists presented a variety of innovative solutions before a panel of independent judges and listened to keynote speakers present about the importance of the patient voice and innovative impact.

"This group of finalists has truly delivered from both the innovation and impact perspectives; all ten finalists provided insights and solutions that will clearly make a difference to those affected by IBD," said Karin Hehenberger, MD, PhD, Founder and CEO of Lyfebulb. "We are honored to bring together this group of inspirational innovators alongside Bristol Myers Squibb."

About Lyfebulb
Lyfebulb empowers people living with chronic illnesses to thrive through education, innovation and connectivity. The company bridges the gap between patient communities and the healthcare industry by working directly with patients and care partners to generate insights and build new solutions to reduce the burden of living with chronic disease. The company operates three digital patient communities, TransplantLyfe, IBDLyfe, and RareCancerLyfe. For more information, visit Lyfebulb.com, TransplantLyfe.com, IBDLyfe.com, RareCancerLyfe.com, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Karin Hehenberger's personal LinkedIn.