Calling All MedTech Innovators: $250K Pediatric Device Competition Accepting Proposals

The National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation (NCC-PDI) is now accepting proposals for medical devices that address a significant yet unmet pediatric need. This year, up to six innovations will be awarded up to $50,000 each during the pediatric medical device pitch competition on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017 at the Fifth Annual Pediatric Device Innovation Symposium hosted by the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children’s National Health System.
 
NCC-PDI, led by the Sheikh Zayed Institute and the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland, invites proposals from innovators—researchers, entrepreneurs and clinicians—with a pediatric medical device concept that has potential for commercialization. Competition finalists will pitch their medical device to a distinguished panel of judges at the symposium. In addition to the prize money, winners will receive consultation services from the FDA-funded consortium. (For competition details and to apply, click here.)
 
“Receiving the symposium award was the start of great things for Velano, as it provided essential funding, expert services and validation that served as a bedrock for venture capital investment, FDA clearance and commercialization in hospitals nationwide,” said Velano Vascular’s chief executive Eric M. Stone, a winner of the 2014 competition and a member of the 2017 symposium planning committee. “The Sheikh Zayed Institute and the competition are critical to the future of innovation for pediatric devices and we are grateful for their support and efforts to help our kids.” 
 
New this year, the nation’s leading pediatric innovation symposium is co-locating in San Jose, Calif. in a joint effort with The MedTech Conference powered by AdvaMed—the premier gathering of medtech professionals in North America.
 
“We are looking forward to holding our symposium on the West Coast this year,” says Kolaleh Eskandanian, Ph.D., executive director of the Sheikh Zayed Institute and NCC-PDI. “We hope this move and collaboration with AdvaMed will create an opportunity for our audience to attend both events.” She added that the goal of the symposium’s pitch competition is to provide financial support that will help bring pediatric devices to market faster by bridging the gap that often follows the prototyping phase in the device development life cycle.
 
“At the 2014 Symposium, Velano Vascular’s device, PIVO, was selected from among hundreds of applicants to win funding from the Sheikh Zayed Institute because of children’s especially acute fear of needles,” said Eskandanian. “We’re so pleased with how far Velano has come in the last three years and are glad to have Eric on our planning committee.”
 
The one-day conference, located at the San Jose Convention Center, brings together medical device innovators, investors, researchers, clinicians and policy makers to stimulate pediatric device innovation and bring solutions to market faster for the benefit of children everywhere. This year’s theme is “partnering for breakthroughs in pediatric surgery and care.”
 
For the symposium agenda and registration, visit www.pediatric-device-symposium.org