DC’s True Bearing Diagnostics Among Five Finalists in CAI’s Major League Pitch Competition
July 25, 2023
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The Center for Advancing Innovation (CAI) held its Major League Pitch Competition on June 22nd at the 9th Annual Wharton DC Innovation Summit at The Wharton Club of DC. This year’s Innovation Summit was a hybrid format with the theme – Advancing to a Healthier, Wealthier World for All. The theme was chosen to reflect the global turbulence of recent years and as a signal to those who want to control their destiny to focus on what lies ahead, while benefiting more people.
(CAI), led by founder and CEO Rosemarie Truman, is a 501c3 non-profit with a core team of nationally recognized innovation strategy consultants, scientific consultants, market strategy consultants and technology transfer experts. CAI’s mission is to Accelerate and increase the volume of technology commercialization and to make valuable research assets available for the world. Through their many innovation programs, grand challenges, and startup competitions CAI makes an impact through creating new companies, generating knowledge-based jobs , and boosting underserved ecosystems to make a positive economic impact.
Here are the finalists of the international Major League Pitch Competition, including DC’s own True Bearing Diagnostics.
Baiya Phytopharm:
Based in Thailand, The start-up was founded by Dr. Suthira Taychakhoonavudh and Dr. Waranyoo Phoolcharoen in 2018 and has been working on a vaccine using the leaves of an Australian tobacco plant. BaiyaPhytopharm is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focused on strengthening health security for all people using a proprietary platform to develop therapeutics and vaccines.
Suthira, a 37-year-old lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, told CNBC’s “Managing Asia” that she and her team of scientists want to “make a difference” in changing Thailand from a vaccine importer to a vaccine maker.
Caring Closures International:
Caring Closures International (CCI) has reimagined the antiquated cap & closure technology for prescription medicines and seeks to innovate across the packaging spectrum to improve access control. CCI’s patented 50+ year innovations in closure technology help healthcare providers and brands keep consumers and their families safe.
CCI’s initial award-winning product line of Safe Rx® branded Locking Prescription Vials (LPV®) are used by providers, pharmacies, and other customers to dispense controlled substances, dangerous or high-value prescriptions, and other medications prone to pilfering or that have high pediatric fatality risk.
ImmersiveTouch:
Through its immersive VR platform, ImmersiveTouch is empowering clinicians with greater precision and consistency of care by accessing new insights from patient scans. The Company’s proprietary platform improves upon existing advanced visualization techniques by integrating artificial intelligence, computer vision, surgical simulation, and virtual reality.
ImmersiveTouch is led by Dr. Pat Banerjee, a professor emeritus and visionary entrepreneur who pioneered the field of enterprise virtual reality, starting with his first research lab in 1995 where he applied VR for Caterpillar, Motorola, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the National Institutes of Health. Under Dr. Banerjee’s leadership, ImmersiveTouch is tackling some of the biggest problems in healthcare.
True Bearing Diagnostics:
True Bearing has diagnostic biomarker panels for cardiovascular disease, appendicitis, and pneumonia/respiratory infections. With unique technology for biomarker discovery, True Bearing can address the enormous market for precision personalized human disease diagnostics and identify new drug targets. These biomarker panels were developed in The Division of Genomic Medicine at The George Washington University by Dr. Tim McCaffrey, in close collaboration with clinical colleagues.
The discovery process used the latest single molecule RNA sequencing techniques, resulting in tests that are accurate and cost effective. Their lead product, TruNAV, is a novel blood RNA-based diagnostic test designed for the early detection of internal infections. Also in development, TruCAD is a “liquid angiogram” that senses immune imbalances in blood with great accuracy through comprehensive RNA-based diagnostics that guide precision care. Initially focused on Cardiovascular disease, the largest healthcare market in the US.
WhisperSom:
WhisperSom Corporation is a medical device and informatics company focused on sleep disordered breathing. The WhisperSom device has been observed to prevent or significantly reduce the duration of obstructive and central sleep apnea events. After five years in research and development, their patented device can eliminate the need for sleep lab tests, uncomfortable headgear, oral appliances, surgery, or implants currently used to detect, prevent, or treat sleep apnea. Following FDA clearances, they expect the device will replace multiple products and services currently required in diagnosing, monitoring, preventing, and treating both obstructive and central sleep apnea.
CAI thanked the DC Wharton Club, most notably Alan Schlaifer and Ruwan Salgado, for the opportunity to share these impactful companies through this pitch event.
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Over the past 11 years, Chris has grown BioBuzz into a respected brand that is recognized for its community building, networking events and news stories about the local biotech industry. In addition, he runs a Recruiting and Marketing Agency that helps companies attract top talent through a blended model that combines employer branding and marketing services together with a high powered recruiting solution.
