– Lilly concluded its first digital health open innovation challenge, “Transforming IBD Care: Better Disease Monitoring, Management, and Care for People with Inflammatory Bowel Disease,” and selected HealthVoyager as the winner.
– The challenge culminated in a competition hosted at Lilly’s headquarters in Indianapolis, where five finalists presented their digital health solutions aimed at transforming IBD care to a panel of judges.
Eli Lilly and Company, today announced it has named HealthVoyager, an application developed by Boston Children’s Hospital and Klick Health the winner of the their first digital health open innovation challenge, “Transforming IBD Care: Better Disease Monitoring, Management, and Care for People with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.” HealthVoyager will now have the opportunity to potentially co-develop their solution with Lilly and secure $50,000 to further develop their idea.
“The submissions we received for this innovation challenge were outstanding. We were impressed by the many bold and innovative ideas leveraging digital technologies aimed at helping people better manage this difficult chronic illness,” said Divakar Ramakrishnan, Ph.D., chief digital officer at Lilly. “We selected HealthVoyager as our winner because the solution spoke to our mission of making lives better for people around the world. Taking a patient-centric approach, the platform focuses on educating and informing the patient in a truly individualized and creative way.”
Impact of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with the two main types being ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, is characterized by chronic inflammation of the digestive tract.1 According to the CDC, approximately 3 million Americans have reported IBD.2 IBD is an idiopathic disease caused by the immune system responding incorrectly to environmental triggers, leading to inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.
Transforming IBD Care Through Digital Health
The idea leverages a highly customizable software platform for doctors to create a personalized and immersive educational experience for patients living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). By providing findings in a personalized and approachable way, patients are now able to fully comprehend their individual results and connect with their healthcare providers in a new way.
At Lilly’s headquarters in Indianapolis, five finalists presented their digital health solutions aimed at transforming IBD care, during which an expert panel of judges evaluated each idea’s impact, novelty, technical feasibility and ability to address long-term needs of people with IBD. Lilly plans to conduct future innovation challenges in additional therapeutic areas in 2020.
“We are thrilled to be selected as the winner of Lilly’s Innovation Challenge for IBD care, and for the opportunity to improve the lives of people living with IBD,” said co-creator of HealthVoyager, Michael Docktor, M.D., pediatric gastroenterologist and clinical director of innovation, Boston Children’s Hospital.
