Lyfebulb and UnitedHealth Group Launch Second Annual Innovation Challenge for Patient Entrepreneurs

MINNETONKA, Minn. and NEW YORK, May 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Lyfebulb LLC and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) invite patient entrepreneurs to compete in "Empowering Patients: An Innovation Challenge," for the second annual Lyfebulb and UnitedHealth Group Innovation Award.

This year's challenge will recognize the top patient entrepreneurs developing innovative ideas for better management of depression and anxiety using health care information technology, medical devices, diagnostics, consumer products or services.   

Eligible companies are those that are founded or led by a patient entrepreneur: someone who has been personally affected by depression or anxiety (themselves or through a loved one) and who develops a product or service to address an unmet need identified through personal experience. Companies based in the United States or Canada (excluding Quebec) are eligible to apply. The application, detailed rules and eligibility criteria can be found at click here. Applications are open until 11:59pm EST on May 31, 2019.

"Depression and anxiety are issues that particularly affect people living with chronic disease," said Dr. Karin Hehenberger, founder and CEO of Lyfebulb. "We are honored to work with UnitedHealth Group on an issue that affects so many people in our community and nationwide. We are eager to tap into the unique insights that patients have, and leverage those to identify user-driven solutions by patient entrepreneurs for issues they face."

A joint steering committee composed of Lyfebulb and UnitedHealth Group executives will conduct a thorough sourcing and screening process, and select 10 finalists who will be invited to the Empowering Patients event July 23-24, 2019, at UnitedHealth Group's headquarters in Minnetonka. There, the finalists will pitch their solutions to a panel of experts (a jury) from the business, medical and patient communities. The jury will award a $25,000 prize to the company with the most innovative and impactful solution at the closing ceremony.

"Depression and anxiety weave through all areas of disease – chronic and acute – yet they are understudied and underserved in terms of dialogue and solutions today in the United States," said Gene Baker, Ph.D., a research fellow at UnitedHealth Group. "We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with Lyfebulb and look forward to hearing from patients and entrepreneurs to learn more about the innovative, patient-driven solutions to help people living with depression and chronic disease."

About Lyfebulb
Lyfebulb is a chronic disease-focused, patient empowerment platform that connects patients and industry (manufacturers and payers) to support user-driven innovation. Lyfebulb promotes a healthy, take-charge lifestyle for those affected by chronic disease. Grounded with its strong foundation in diabetes, the company has expanded disease states covered into cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis and depression/anxiety.

See www.lyfebulb.com, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Karin Hehenberger LinkedIn, and Lyfebulb LinkedIn.

About UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health care company dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and helping to make the health system work better for everyone. UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of products and services through two distinct platforms: UnitedHealthcare, which provides health care coverage and benefits services; and Optum, which provides information and technology-enabled health services. For more information, visit UnitedHealth Group at http://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/ or follow @UnitedHealthGrp on Twitter.

Contact:        

Lyfebulb
Karin Hehenberger, M.D., Ph.D., CEO
917-575-0210; [email protected]

UnitedHealth Group
Tyler Mason
424-333-6122, [email protected]

SOURCE Lyfebulb

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