Center for Medical Innovation-supported projects fare well in Tech Tournament
Invent Penn State’s 2021 virtual Tech Tournament showcased eight of Penn State’s most disruptive innovations and early-stage startups born out of the University’s research enterprise. The startups and inventors pitched their technologies to a panel of three judges for their chance at the $75,000 grand prize.
The judges for the event were Alice Cheng, associate at Upfront; Ilana Diamond, managing partner at 412 Venture Fund; and Bruce Shook, CEO at Vesper Medical.
The winner of the $75,000 top prize, Cranial Devices Inc., was led by Barry Fell, a consultant for the Surgery Innovation Group in the Department of Surgery at Penn State Health and College of Medicine. He co-founded CDI with Dr. Randy Haluck, professor and vice chair for technology in the Department of Surgery. The two previously won at the inaugural 2016 Tech Tournament with their startup SIG Medical Corp., which was acquired by Zimmer-Biomet in 2019.
Another project, ElkosRx, took third place and $25,000 for its diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) treatment targeting the underlying pathophysiology of diabetic wounds. Patricia McLaughlin, Dr. Joseph Sassani and Ian Zagon, at the College of Medicine have developed an easy to manufacture and use, cost-effective topical treatment for DFUs that improves healing time and skin integrity.
The College of Medicine’s Center for Medical Innovation supported both projects.
Learn more about the Tech Tournament projects in this Penn State News article
The inventors and faculty named above hold equity interest in their respective companies mentioned above.
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