Our annual ENGAGE conference is November 6-7 in San Diego but we’re already on the hunt for healthcare startups seeking to improve the patient experience for our startup pitch competition at the event.
The startups we’re looking for span a wide variety of approaches to engaging patients in their healthcare from making it easier for patients to access care, improving communication with their care team, helping them prepare for procedures, navigating the challenge of chronic conditions, and more.
Pitch Perfect contest applicants will be narrowed down to 10 finalists who will present to a team of judges from the venture investor community. Startups will have four minutes for their presentations and then judges will have five minutes to pepper entrepreneurs with questions about their strategy and business plans.
Here’s the criteria for Pitch Perfect applicants:
- Healthcare startups with a focus on patient engagement;
- Have raised at least one seed round of funding;
- Founded in 2013 or later; and
- Currently seeking or intend to seek additional rounds of capital within six to 12 months of the conference.
MedCity News Editor in Chief Arundhati Parmar with TJ Connolly of Care + Wear. Photo: Jill Fleming Photography
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Last year’s winner was Care + Wear, a New York-based business with apparel designed for people receiving treatment for cancer and other conditions.
To qualify for Pitch Perfect at ENGAGE, applications must be submitted by September 1, 9 pm ET. Apply here.
