Patient Entrepreneur Finalists Announced for the 2017 Lyfebulb-Novo Nordisk Innovation Summit and Award

NEW YORK, Oct. 10, 2017 -- The finalists for the 2017 Lyfebulb-Novo Nordisk Innovation Summit and Award have been announced today.   

The Summit and Award spotlights outstanding Patient Entrepreneurs’ innovative efforts and ideas to better manage Diabetes via consumer products, medical devices, or healthcare information technology. At the Summit, the selected Patient Entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to engage with Lyfebulb founders, Novo Nordisk Device R&D leadership, researchers and engineers, as well as venture capitalists. The finalists will participate in a three day, interactive program, which will conclude with the announcement of the three winners, who will receive monetary prizes.

Thanks to the high quality and quantity of applications this year, we have decided to invite 12 finalists instead of 10. They are: Aaron Horowitz of Sproutel, Amin Zayani of Med Angel BV, Charles O’Connell of FitScript LLC, David Weingard of Fit4D, Jeff Dachis of One Drop, Jen Horonjeff of Savvy Cooperative, Josh Wulf of Magikcraft, Laurent Nicolas of DIABNEXT, Linh Le of Bonbouton, Liz Sacco of Diabetes Dabs, Luka Zupancic of Easycarb, and Matthew Loper of Wellth. For more information please visit Lyfebulb’s website.

The finalists have been selected from close to 100 applications representing 25 countries around the world, by Lyfebulb founders and senior device researchers from Novo Nordisk. The finalists will attend the Lyfebulb-Novo Nordisk Innovation Summit November 6-8, 2017 hosted by Novo Nordisk A/S in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Summit provides a unique opportunity for visibility and recognition in this highly competitive arena. The winner, as well as the second and third place runners-up, will be chosen by an international judging panel, on November 8, 2017, and awarded monetary prizes in the amounts of $25,000 USD, $15,000 USD, and $10,000 USD, respectively.

“We are thrilled to team up with Novo Nordisk a second year in a row for the 2017 Lyfebulb-Novo Nordisk Innovation Summit and Award, and were impressed by the applications we received from all over the world yet again this year. It was definitely tough to narrow down the large number of quality applications to just twelve, but we are certain that this group of finalists will make this year’s event as successful, or an even greater success than last year’s Summit,” says Dr. Karin Hehenberger, CEO and Founder of Lyfebulb. “Patient entrepreneurs are individuals who have utilized their diagnosis, or that of someone close to the innovator, a relative or loved one, as motivation to form businesses aimed at improving the quality of life of those living with a chronic illness, and are an essential part of the future for people living with chronic disease.”

Senior Vice President for Novo Nordisk Device R&D Kenneth Strømdahl adds: “Digital technologies and patient entrepreneurs are fast-tracking towards a transformed future in the device space. I can´t wait to meet the twelve finalists and share perspective on what rally all of us around a common goal: dreaming of a better future for patients with diabetes.”

More information on the selection process, the Summit, and the finalists can be found here.

About Lyfebulb
Lyfebulb is a business focused on bridging patient communities with industry, and providing a strong voice to people living with chronic disease by empowering patient entrepreneurs and patient ambassadors. See www.lyfebulb.com, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Karin Hehenberger LinkedIn, and Lyfebulb LinkedIn.

About Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with more than 90 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. This heritage has given us experience and capabilities that also enable us to help people defeat other serious chronic conditions: haemophilia, growth disorders and obesity. Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs approximately 42,000 people in 77 countries and markets its products in more than 165 countries. For more information, visit novonordisk.com, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube

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