NCC-PDI and MedTech Innovator offer pediatric innovators an accelerator track and chance to pitch for up to $250K in awards
Applications open now for March 23rd first round pitch event
WASHINGTON, Jan 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation (NCC-PDI), in collaboration with MedTech Innovator, is now accepting applications for its showcase pitch event on March 23, 2020, in College Park, Maryland. The competition is focused on pediatric devices in three areas of critical need: cardiovascular, orthopedic and spine, and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Up to ten companies selected from this event will move on to the “Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids!” on Oct. 4, 2020 in Toronto, Canada, to compete for up to $250,000 in grant awards. These companies also receive a spot in the MedTech Innovator 2020 Accelerator – Pediatric Track, which provides a customized curriculum and in-depth mentorship. The goal of the competition and accelerator is to increase the pace of development and commercialization of critically-needed pediatric medical devices for the benefit of children everywhere. Applications are currently being accepted until midnight, Eastern Standard Time, on Feb. 15, 2020. Results for the March 2020 NCC-PDI pitch event are announced in late May 2020.
Now in its seventh year, NCC-PDI is led by the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children’s National Hospital and the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland. Additional consortium members include accelerators MedTech Innovator and BioHealth Innovation, along with design firm partner Archimedic. NCC-PDI is one of five FDA-funded nonprofit pediatric device consortia focused on facilitating the development, production and distribution of pediatric medical devices.
While there is a great need for pediatric devices in many specialty areas, the development and commercialization process is very challenging because of the small market size and dynamic characteristics of the patient population,” says Kolaleh Eskandanian, Ph.D., MBA, PMP, vice president and chief innovation officer at Children’s National Hospital and principal investigator of NCC-PDI. “To provide pediatric innovators with greater support in meeting these unique challenges, we must go beyond grant funding, which is why we are collaborating with MedTech Innovator to offer an accelerator program with a pediatric track.”
To date, NCC-PDI has mentored over 100 medical device sponsors to help advance their pediatric innovations, notes Dr. Eskandanian, with six devices having received either their FDA market clearance or CE marking. She says the success of NCC-PDI’s portfolio companies is attributed to funding, mentorship, support from partners, facilitated interactions between device innovators and potential investors, and being discovered during their presentations at the signature “Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids!” competitions.
While advancements have been made in some pediatric specialties, there is still a critical need for novel devices in cardiovascular, orthopedic and spine, and NICU areas. On average over the past decade, only 24 percent of life-saving medical devices approved by FDA – those that go through PMA and HDE regulatory pathways – have an indication for pediatric use. Of those, most are designated for children ages 12 or older. “Devices designed specifically for the younger pediatric population are vitally needed and, at this early stage of the intervention, can significantly improve developmental outcomes for a child,” Dr. Eskandanian said.
“Innovators who choose to specialize in the pediatric market face a unique opportunity to improve quality of life not only for thousands of children, but also for their families and caregivers,” says William E. Bentley, Ph.D., Robert E. Fischell distinguished professor and director of the Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices at the University of Maryland. “We want to help innovators overcome the challenges to achieving this.”
The “Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids!” final competition on October 4 in Toronto is part of the 8th Annual Pediatric Device Innovation Symposium, a one-day conference organized and hosted by Children’s National Hospital, that brings together the full spectrum of stakeholders from the public and private sector to examine the progress and the challenges of bringing pediatric medical devices to market and explore new solutions. For innovators, it provides a great opportunity to network with investors, clinical and regulatory experts, medtech executives and others.
“Our expertise at MedTech Innovator is in identifying the most promising medtech startups and helping ensure that transformative technologies successfully reach patients and improve lives, and that’s what we look forward to accomplishing with this cohort of pediatric innovators,” said Paul Grand, CEO of MedTech Innovator, the premier nonprofit accelerator in the medical technology industry. “Our pediatric accelerator track will help innovators address their unique challenges and refine their value propositions, in addition to providing mentoring by key industry leaders and investors.”
Dr. Eskandanian says that enhancing access to resources for pediatric innovators is also one of the aims of the Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus, a first-of-its-kind focused on pediatric health care innovation, currently under development on the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus in Washington, D.C. With its proximity to federal research institutions and agencies, universities, academic research centers, as well as on-site accelerator Johnson and Johnson Innovation – JLABS, the campus will create a rich ecosystem of public and private partners which, like the NCC-PDI network, will help bolster pediatric innovation and commercialization. Opening is scheduled for December 2020.
For more information and to apply for the upcoming NCC-PDI pitch competition, click here.
Media Contact: Cherri Carbonara | 713-524-8170 | 832-473-6380
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About the University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park is the state’s flagship university and one of the nation’s preeminent public research universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship and innovation, the university is home to more than 40,000 students,10,000 faculty and staff, and 280 academic programs. Its faculty includes two Nobel laureates, three Pulitzer Prize winners and 58 members of the national academies. The institution secures $514 million annually in external research funding. The university’s Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices seeks to catalyze the transformation of basic research into clinical practice and commercial success. The Institute aims to drive innovation by immersing creative and energetic scientists and engineers in a nurturing and rewarding research environment where engineered health systems are conceived of and investigated. The Institute is comprised of staff, resources, facilities, and a network of experts who not only facilitate prototyping and manufacturing expertise, but who also facilitate venture creation, intellectual property creation, and product passage through various clinical, regulatory and reimbursement hurdles.
For more information about the University of Maryland, College Park, click here.
About Children’s National Hospital
Children’s National Hospital, based in Washington, D.C., has served the nation’s children since 1870. Children’s National is the nation’s No. 6 pediatric hospital and, for the third straight year, is ranked No. 1 in newborn care, as well as ranked in all specialties evaluated by U.S. News & World Report. It has been designated two times as a Magnet® hospital, a designation given to hospitals that demonstrate the highest standards of nursing and patient care delivery. This pediatric academic health system offers expert care through a convenient, community-based primary care network and specialty outpatient centers in the D.C. Metropolitan area, including the Maryland suburbs and Northern Virginia. Home to the Children’s Research Institute and the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, Children’s National is the seventh-highest NIH-funded children’s hospital in the nation. Children’s National is recognized for its expertise and innovation in pediatric care and as a strong voice for children through advocacy at the local, regional and national levels.
