NCC-PDI extends submission deadline for $250K pediatric medical device competition to Aug. 24

Up to six innovations to be awarded at the Fifth Annual Pediatric Device Innovation Symposium

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Aug 21, 2017, 07:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation (NCC-PDI) is extending the deadline for the "Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids!" competition to Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017 at midnight PDT.

Up to six prizes totaling $250,000 will be awarded to the winning presentations at the Fifth Annual Pediatric Device Innovation Symposium on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017 in San Jose, Calif., 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, visit innovate4kids.org/funding-opportunities.

"We've had unprecedented interest in the competition this year and we want to accommodate as many pediatric medical device innovators as possible, so we want to give everyone a bit more time to finalize their submission," says Kolaleh Eskandanian, Ph.D., executive director of the Sheikh Zayed Institute and NCC-PDI. She adds 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.

Judges for this year's pitch competition include Susan Alpert, M.D., of SFA Consulting, a former director of the FDA Office of Device Evaluation and former senior vice president and chief regulatory officer of Medtronic; Charles Berul, M.D., of Children's National; Andrew Elbardissi, M.D., of Deerfield Management; Rick Greenwald, Ph.D., of the New England Pediatric Device Consortium (NEPDC); Josh Makower, M.D., of NEA; Jennifer McCaney, Ph.D., of MedTech Innovator; and Jackie Phillips, M.D., of Johnson & Johnson.

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 one-day conference 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." Keynote speakers include Daniel Kraft, M.D., faculty chair of Medicine & Neuroscience, Singularity University and executive director, Exponential Medicine; Vasum Peiris, M.D., chief medical officer, Pediatrics and Special Populations, FDA; and Alan Flake, M.D., director of Center for Fetal Research, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

For the symposium agenda and registration, visit pediatric-device-symposium.org.

About Children's National Health System
Children's National Health System, based in Washington, D.C., has been serving the nation's children since 1870. Children's National is #1 for babies and ranked in every specialty evaluated by U.S. News & World Report including placement in the top 10 for: Cancer (#7), Neurology and Neurosurgery (#9) Orthopedics (#9) and Nephrology (#10). Children's National has been designated two times as a Magnet® hospital, a designation given to hospitals that demonstrate the highest standards of nursing and patient care delivery. This pediatric academic health system offers expert care through a convenient, community-based primary care network and specialty outpatient centers. Home to the Children's Research Institute and the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, Children's National is one of the nation's top NIH-funded pediatric institutions. Children's National is recognized for its expertise and innovation in pediatric care and as a strong voice for children through advocacy at the local, regional and national levels. For more information, visit ChildrensNational.org, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.