[October 13, 2016]

Transformational Competitors Advance to the Finals of the Inaugural Diabetes Innovation Challenge

T1D Exchange, an organization dedicated to accelerating research and improving outcomes in type 1 diabetes, and M2D2, a joint venture of the University of Massachusetts Lowell and Worcester campuses that incubates medical device start-ups, named the eight challengers who will compete in the finals of the inaugural Diabetes Innovation Challenge, an open, global competition to identify and accelerate transformational advancements in diabetes research and care. Featuring four early-to-preclinical stage and four late stage projects, the participants will present to an expert panel of judges on October 20, 2016 at the Royal Sonesta Boston in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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The early-to-preclinical stage finalists include:

• Glyscend (Baltimore, MD): Orally-administered intestinal coating which mimics the therapeutic benefits of bariatric surgery on type 2 diabetes
• Integrated Medical (Irvine, CA (News - Alert)): Fully-integrated, low cost, implantable, wireless, continuous glucose monitoring platform
• QSM Diagnostics (Somerville, MA): Sensors in wound dressings for detecting infection
• WindGap Medical (Somerville, MA): Autoinjector that automates the rehydration and adminstration of lyophilized drugs, such as glucagon

• Admetsys (Boston, MA): artificial pancreas system specifically for the needs of diabetics in-hospital
• Enable Biosciences (Menlo Park, CA): ultrasensitive non-radioactive autoantibody test that can be readily used for population screening
• Polyphotonix (Durham, UK): non-invasive, low cost diabetic retinopathy mask that can be used by the patient in their own home while asleep
• Prosenex (Hudson, NH): objective, graded foot screening for both painless and painful small and large nerve fiber peripheral neuropathy

"This competition has done exactly what we hoped it would do - help introduce new and innovative solutions in diabetes to audiences seeking to support and develop these innovations including venture capitalists, industry, academia, foundations and nonprofits. We had 60 initial applicants whose projects surpassed our expectations; we narrowed that group down to 26 semi-finalists and with the finalists now chosen, we are especially eager to learn more about the projects put forth by our finalists," said Dana Ball, executive director and co-founder of T1D Exchange. "The need for solutions that improve quality of life and care of people living with diabetes is tremendous. This type of incentive challenge has helped catalyze interest, experience and investments to accelerate development of innovations that can ultimately improve outcomes."

On Thursday, October 20 a panel of expert judges will choose two winners who will be awarded up to $150,000 cash or in-kind services provided by T1D Exchange and M2D2, and supported by a number of sponsors including lead sponsors American Diabetes Association (ADA) and JDRF.  The winners will be announced during the finals event and will present at the close of the T1D Exchange Annual Meeting, Innovations in Care, on Friday, October 21 at the Royal Sonesta Boston, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The finalists include four regional startups; QSM Diagnostics (Somerville, MA), Windgap Medical (Somerville, MA), Admetsys (Boston, MA) and Prosonex (Hudson, NH). Other finalists are from Maryland, California and demonstrating the global nature of this challenge, the United Kingdom.

About T1D Exchange
T1D Exchange, a program of Unitio, was founded on the belief that improving outcomes in type 1 diabetes (T1D) requires a new approach-one that helps researchers conduct better research faster; better research because it's patient-driven and more informed; faster research because T1D Exchange provides researchers with access to resources they need to conduct clinical studies. Our innovative model offers researchers access to aggregated clinical, biological, patient-reported outcomes and electronic health record data, all while fostering collaboration among patients, physicians, researchers and industry. Our model is multi-faceted and complex, but our goal is simple: to tangibly improve outcomes for people with type 1 diabetes as fast as humanly possible.

About M2D2
M2D2, the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center, is a joint initiative of the Lowell and Worcester campuses of the UMass system. Its aim is to help new biotech and medical device entrepreneurs develop products every step of the way, from proof-of-concept to commercialization. Affiliated faculty and staff have assisted more than 100 start-up companies and entrepreneurs since the program kicked off in the spring of 2007.

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