MassMEDIC Announces the 2021 IGNITE Accelerator Winners
The Relaunched IGNITE Now Includes 50 Startups Who Have Collectively Secured $70 Million in Follow On Funding
BOSTON, Dec. 20, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MassMEDIC, the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council, announced today the successful conclusion of the 2021 program of its medtech accelerator focused on identifying and nurturing medical device leaders of the future, MedTech IGNITE. This year’s IGNITE cohort included 12 startups developing wearables, diagnostics, and surgical devices in the fields of neurology, women’s health, oncology, infectious disease, diabetes, and cardiology.
The 2021 IGNITE cohort participated in virtual master classes run by medtech executives with expertise in legal, regulatory, manufacturing, HR, and financing. In addition, they attended virtual networking events and fireside chats with medtech industry luminaries while honing their pitches with feedback from VCs and experienced mentors.
This year’s cash award winners were selected by their peers. Each cohort founder presented their corporate pitch to the cohort and were scored on three criteria: product market fit, business plan and strength of the team. The winners are:
- Third place (tie): Phiex Technologies (founded by CL Tian) and OxiWear (founded by Shavini Fernando) each received $1,250
- Second Place: AOA Dx (co-founded by Oriana Papin-Zoghbi, Anna Jeter and Alex Fischer) received $7,500
- First Place: Encora Therapeutics (co-founded by Trang Luu, Daniel Carballo, Kyle Pina and Allison Davanzo) received $20,000
“We are extremely proud of the 2021 IGNITE Cohort. IGNITE is designed to identify, nurture and support medtech entrepreneurs from around the world. We made a concerted effort this year to expand the footprint and the 2021 cohort had the largest representation of female founders at 59 percent while featuring a fantastic group of teams from around the globe. Although the program was run virtually again this year, that did not deter the founders from developing strong bonds and inspiring each other—and making great strides to advance their ventures,” said Rachel Robinson, Vice President of MassMEDIC.
“The initial financial investment three years ago in this program by the Mass Life Sciences Center is now reaping great ROI. The IGNITE founders to date have collectively raised $70 million in funding, due to their innovation, persistence and drive. MassMEDIC is committed to supporting and growing the Commonwealth’s and greater New England’s medtech ecosystem, and IGNITE is playing an important role in connecting all stakeholders with the medtech leaders of the future.”
“The Life Sciences Center is a proud partner of the MassMEDIC Ignite program to support promising medtech startups and drive diversity and gender parity in the sector,” said Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President and CEO Kenn Turner. “I want to congratulate this year’s cohort which represents a dynamic group of CEOs and founders who demonstrate the best of our region’s thriving ecosystem.”
IGNITE is creating a pipeline of medtech startups who will help fuel the future of the Commonwealth’s medtech ecosystem by establishing offices, hiring teams, partnering with strategics and engaging professional services firms. The program has attracted startups from across the Commonwealth, the U.S. and globally, with a focus on inclusion and diversity among its founders including 43 percent female founders across the last three cohorts.
In-kind services were awarded from IGNITE corporate sponsors including: Alira Health selected Phiex Technologies; Isola Therapeutics will receive services from Boyd Technologies; Agile Search selected Kalia Health; and Isola Therapeutics was selected by Wilson Sonsini. Formlabs donated a 3D printer to OxiWear. The IGNITE 2021 program was also supported by Teijin and Kohler, and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC).
The 2021 IGNITE Cohort includes:
- Alva Health Inc. Founder: Sandra Saldana, Ph.D.
- AOA Dx Co-Founders: Oriana Papin-Zoghbi, Anna Jeter, Alex Fisher
- CRIAM KNOWLEDGE Founder: Vitor Crespo, Vania Fernandes
- Dialysis X Founder: Oluwagbebemi D. Oyeniyi
- Encora Therapeutics Co-Founders: Daniel Carballo, Trang Luu, Kyle Pina, Allison Davanzo
- InnoTech Precision Medicine Founder: Roya Khosravi-Far, Ph.D., PLD
- Isola Therapeutics Co-Founders: Brian Craig, Dwight Meglan
- Kalia Health Co-Founders: Happy Ghosh, Denali Dahl
- Kleincise Inc. Founder: Dara Azar, Ph.D.
- OxiWear Founder: Shavini Fernando
- Phiex Technologies Founder: CL Tian
- Ruby Nanomed Co-Founders: Lorena Dieguez, Sara Abalde-Cela, Paulina Piairo, Enrique Sanchez
About IGNITE:
The MedTech IGNITE Program is a virtual accelerator offering an experiential training, mentorship, and networking curriculum, to attract and nurture the next generation of medtech founders and entrepreneurs. IGNITE was relaunched in 2019 with support from a grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC). IGNITE sponsors include Agile Search, Alira Health, Boyd Technologies, Formlabs, Kohler, Teijin and Wilson Sonsini.
About MassMEDIC:
The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC), an organization of more than 300 manufacturers, suppliers, research institutions, and academic health centers, promotes the unique interests of the Bay State’s growing and vibrant medical device sector. Through a variety of programs, informational seminars, advocacy campaigns and other projects, MassMEDIC provides medical device manufacturers and suppliers with information on industry trends and regulatory policies and creates forums that allow members to exchange ideas and information on issues affecting the industry. For more information on MassMEDIC, visit www.massmedic.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
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