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$100K Challenge Seeks Reinvented Clinical Trials

DNA analytics illustration

(PublicDomainPictures, Pixabay)

28 January 2016. A challenge at Harvard Business School seeks proposals for better ways of conducting clinical trials that bring to market faster new precision diagnostics and therapies. The competition has a total prize purse of $100,000 and an initial deadline of 13 March 2016.

Precision medicine is the term given to emerging practices bringing together underlying molecular causes of disease, often revealed through genomics, with clinical data available at the point of care made available through the widespread use of electronic health records. At the same time, the conduct of clinical trials is seen as a major time and money factor in the development of new therapies, now estimated to take a decade or more and $1.4 billion in out-of-pocket expenses for eventual approval by the Food and Drug Administration.

The challenge seeks ideas for new methods and processes for conducting clinical trials from the scientific, medical, and business communities, as well as patients themselves. Entries, due by 13 March, can include ideas or well thought-out solutions. A panel of judges will review proposals, which will be made public and open to online comments and discussion.

Judging is expected to continue to mid-April 2016. The first prize winner will receive $50,000 while two runners-up will each receive $25,000. Challenge organizers say there are no strings attached to the awards.

The challenge is conducted by the Health Care Initiative at Harvard Business School that encourages entrepreneurial solutions across the health care industry. Funding for the competition comes from the Robert and Myra Kraft Family Foundation that in November 2015, created the Kraft Endowment for Advancing Precision Medicine with a $20 million grant to the school.

The following video tells more about the challenge.

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