Healthcare entrepreneurs enjoyed the spotlight in the Pitch Perfect contest at our annual INVEST conference(Opens in a new window) in Chicago this week. The 24 finalists competed in the event and were judged by groups of investors. The tracks included: biopharma; devices and diagnostics; health tech aimed at consumers and self-insured employers; and health tech aimed at payers and providers.
The winners are:
Biopharma: Infectious diseases
Yaso Therapeutics(Opens in a new window) is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing anti-infective drug products as well as a contraceptive. Its mission is to develop cutting-edge treatment and prevention products based on a broadly acting polyanion with a core effort focused on women’s health.
Mary Weitzel, Yaso Therapeutics CEO and co-founder, explained in her pitch that Yaso is pioneering the next generation of non-hormonal contraceptives and antimicrobials. Among its targets are drug-resistant strains of gonorrhea.
Devices/Diagnostics: Chronic diseases
Micro-Leads Medical(Opens in a new window) seeks to help people with chronic pain, diabetic neuropathy, sleep apnea, urological disorders, and migraines through its smart implant technology. Micro-Leads has developed “smart programmable electrodes” to unlock a new class of implants. It uses hermetic electronics within each electrode array. Shape-memory smart implant electrodes are self-expanding and provide minimally invasive and injectable delivery paradigms by unlocking treatment to a 3x-5x larger therapeutic area, according to its website.
Chad Andresen, VP Business Development, presented the company’s pitch.
Health Tech, Payer/Provider: Artificial Intelligence
Pear Suite(Opens in a new window) Although health plans would like to contract with community health workers (CHWs) to close care gaps and address the social drivers of health, CHWs often lack the tools and expertise to become in-network providers, safely share healthcare data, and submit claims, preventing these partnerships. Pear Suite sees a need for turnkey solutions to partner with CHWs. Through Pear Suite’s all-in-one platform, community organizations can support members with social determinants of health (SDoH) screenings, health education, navigation, and resource referrals in a sustainable, person-centered way. Its provider network helps health plans build network capacity while addressing care gaps at scale.
Colby Takeda, CEO and co-founder, delivered the company’s pitch.
Health Tech, Consumer/Employer: Care navigation and coordination
DUOS(Opens in a new window) focuses on helping older adults. It addresses critical gaps in healthcare by taking a holistic approach to health and wellness. It seeks to improve access to programs to reduce food insecurity. It also wants to make it easier for seniors to keep their medical appointments, and connect users to untapped financial resources.
CEO and Co-founder Karl Ulfers, who presented the company’s pitch, wants to use AI to help older adults navigate complex healthcare decisions. This vision extends beyond technology, reshaping the healthcare landscape to ensure older adults and their caregivers can access the support they need.
