Selected by an audience vote of almost 1,500 attendees at the MedTech Conference, Day Zero Diagnostics was named as the winner of the MedTech Innovator 2017 Global Competition. The company’s idea to combine machine learning with genome sequencing to fight antimicrobial resistant infections won them the grand prize of $350,000 over 600 other startups.
“It was a tremendous benefit to be part of the MedTech Innovator Accelerator, but to win the whole competition is invaluable,” said Day Zero Diagnostics’ Co-Founder and CEO, Jong Lee. “We’re proud to be considered a startup that is doing transformational work in healthcare, and the resources and funding awarded through MedTech Innovator will help support us as we make our goals a reality.”
The 2017 competition was highly involved and had three distinct phases for ten possible innovation themes, like technology-enabled healthcare services, precision medicine and personalized medicine, population health, and infectious disease management. From each of the ten categories, 100 companies were selected to pitch to executives, investors, and providers.
50 of the 100 companies moved on to the Innovator Showcase, an interactive on-stage program at the MedTech conference, and 20 of those companies moved on to the four-month virtual MedTech Innovator Accelerator, which ends with each company presenting at the finals during the MedTech Conference.
The grand prize was chosen by the conference audience in real time and a professional panel that included Renee Ryan from Johnson & Johnson, Vice President and Head at Baxter Ventures and Baxter International Inc. Anne E. Sissel, KP Ventures Managing Director Amy Belt Raimundo, and BD Technologies & Innovation’s Director of External Innovation & Partnerships Albert Lauitano.
