Neel Mehta
The Maryland-based Center for Advancing Innovation has partnered with the City of Virginia Beach and the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development to introduce an open innovation challenge for startup companies to develop medical devices, therapeutics and vaccines for diseases related to military service.
CAI said Monday it will administer the VABeachBio Innovation Challenge with the goal to help as many as 20 companies bring veterans’ health-related discoveries to the marketplace.
“Our mission is to identify breakthrough inventions and maximize their commercial potential,” said CAI CEO Rosemarie Truman.
Truman added the program aims to support innovations that originated from federally funded research laboratories, hospitals and universities.
A panel of judges, advisers and mentors will evaluate business plans from interested participants.
Participating teams will have a chance to receive mentoring, accelerator training and seed funding to establish a company, according to CAI.
The nonprofit will select winners based on elevator speeches, business plans, financial models, live presentations and other deliverables.
CAI added it will provide winners access to the VABeachBio Innovation Park and the nonprofit expects selected startups to consider entering into licensing or collaboration agreements with institutions that helped invent the technologies.
