LEO Innovation Lab Calls For HealthTech Innovators To Enter Open Innovation Challenge

The world’s leading company for people with skin diseases proves its strong customer focus as well as digital drive. Following the launch of LEO Innovation Lab, a hub designed to develop digital solutions for patients, the pharmaceutical company hosts two challenges to improve the lives of millions of people, suffering from a chronic skin condition. While no medical treatments are developed at the company’s innovation hub, the entity looks “at all aspects of everyday life that can affect a person living with a skin condition, with the goal of improving their quality of life”, as president and CEO Gitte Aabo puts it.

Challenge #1 Skin Prediction

The main object of the first challenge is Psoriasis. With millions of people worldwide suffering from the disease, LEO Innovation Lab is looking for solutions that will enable patients to predict the next flare-up with min. 70% accuracy.

Challenge #2 Relieve Itch

The second challenge aims to find a digital and/or device solution for people with a skin condition (e.g. psoriasis or eczema) in order to live more comfortably with their itch or even relieve it, thus improving their overall quality of life.

Why You Should Accept The Innovation Challenge

Both challenges are based on soft- and/or hardware solutions, assuming that users have access to smartphones. For Skin Prediction, prizes worth $100,000 will be awarded, contestants in the Relieve Itch challenge are racing for a total amount of $50,000.

Apart from the total prize money of $150,000, there are other perks waiting for the winning participants upon entering the LEO Innovation Lab portfolio:

• Partnership with LEO Innovation Lab
• Possibility of first funding round without giving away shares
• Collaboration for commercialisation
• Access to LEO Pharma’s sales force
• Access to a network of patients and healthcare providers

How It Works

The two competitions are divided into two phases: concept (Deadline Feb. 8th) and prototype submission (Deadline May 22nd).

All concepts submitted have to include the following information in a slide-deck:

• Key hypotheses and supporting evidence
• Description of concept and features
• Mock-ups of concept (if applicable)
• Description of technical requirements

Prototyping phases underlie different criteria, which can be recognized in the full guidelines for the Skin Prediction & Relieve Itch Challenge.

Submit Your Concept Until February 8th

According to CEO Gitte Aabo the aim of Copenhagen-based LEO Innovation Lab is to “build and test digital technologies and platforms that will address areas the pharmaceutical industry typically overlooks”. The pharma company chose to address health startups, in particular, to complement their competencies and attract individuals willing to work in a more digital environment.

Get involved & help improve the lives of millions of people by accepting the Skin Prediction & Relieve Itch Challenge and submit your concept until February 8th!

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