Newly launched in 2014 by LIVESTRONG, “The Big C” is a one-of-a-kind global competition to generate innovations that improve the daily quality of life for the 32.5 million people around the world living with cancer now. The competition was open to entrepreneurs, trailblazers, technology whizzes, and anyone with a product, service, or innovation that helps those facing cancer today. Ventures are competing for $140,000 in seed funding, mentoring, and global exposure to a community of potential customers and investors to develop programs, services, new technology, and inventions that improve cancer patients’ and survivors’ daily quality of life.
Five Finalists
The LIVESTRONG Foundation’s inaugural Big C competition has reached its final stage, choosing 5 final ventures from more than 750 entries from around the world. The finalists are presenting their ventures to a panel of seven judges on October 17; the grand prize winner will be announced at the finale event at the Austin Music Hall in Texas.
The five finalists (in alphabetical order) are:
- Adhere Tech created smart pill bottles to send patient dosage behavior that is analyzed in real-time, allowing patients to receive dosage reminders via text message. The pill bottle itself lights up and chimes to remind patients about their medication, as well. The bottles are currently in a pilot stage.
- Decisive Health’s Treatment Explorer support tool matches cancer patients’ lifestyle preferences with the best possible treatment option to match the two. The tool is customized for each patient and shared with health-care providers so that individual patients can receive optimal patient-centered care.
- Restwise’s app helps cancer patients and survivors understand the importance of resting and managing fatigue to rehabilitate themselves from treatment and get the most out of their exercise programs. The program began with a pilot at the LIVESTRONG at the YMCA program in Boise, Idaho.
- TeVido BioDevices uses three-dimensional printing technology to create real-life breast tissue to be used in breast reconstruction surgeries following mastectomies. The Austin-based company uses a patient’s own cells to recreate the tissue.
- unCancer India is designed to give cancer patients and survivors in India navigation services that provide information on diagnoses and survivorship, emotional support, and a connection to much-needed, timely resources that those patients are not currently receiving.
Overall, 60 ventures will receive a total of $140,000 in seed funding, based on their innovation’s utility, ingenuity and benefits to cancer patients and survivors. In addition, the grand prize winner will receive $25,000. ■
