GE Launches New Innovation Challenge
GE is well known to innovators for the company’s Ecomagination Challenge, which offers significant prize money to winners of various clean energy-related innovation challenges. Now, GE Healthcare, along with four venture capitalist firms, has announced a $100 million Healthymagination challenge.
The challenge is focused on “Assembling Tools to Fight Cancer” and is described as an open call to action for businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators and students with breakthrough ideas for accelerating early detection and enabling more personalized treatment for breast cancer. More specifically, the challenge is aimed at funding promising initiatives that may improve diagnostics and lead to better understanding of the aggressive triple negative cancer. Enhanced early detection and treatment options will improve care for 10 million cancer patients.
The Challenge will run for six month and consist of specific sub-challenges that will be run during different portions. Current sub-challenges focus on mapping breast cancer pathways and molecular/proteomic similarities between tumors. Challenge entries will be judged by a varied panel including GE executives, venture capital partners, and leading healthcare experts.
The Challenge is part of a five year global campaign against cancer. At an event to launch the campaign, talk centered on the “disruptive thinking” required to transform the way cancer is screened and treated. It is believed that now is the time for disruption, with mobile technology already unleashing innovation.
GE has been in the oncology space for 50 years but in the past several years has been significantly expanding its pipeline through acquisitions. The company is also investing in the development of a first-in-kind “super database,” which will consolidate clinical, pathology, therapy, and outcomes data in one place to enable analysis and further accelerate innovation.
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