Lyfebulb And Arena Pharmaceuticals Announce The Winner Of The 2021 Innovation Challenge in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

NEW YORK, Sept. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lyfebulb, a patient-empowerment platform, and Arena Pharmaceuticals, a company focused on developing innovative therapeutics for immune-mediated conditions, are excited to announce that Atray Dixit, PhD, Co-founder and CEO of Coral Genomics, was selected as the winner of the 2021 Lyfebulb and Arena Pharmaceuticals: Imagining Life Without Limits – An Inflammatory Bowel Disease Innovation Challenge.

Coral Genomics will receive the $25,000 monetary award to further develop its mission of bringing precision medicine to IBD and increasing its applicability in a diverse population. Additionally, Asaf Kraus of Dieta Health was given an honorable mention for pioneering its objective measurement of previously subjective measures of IBD health in its companion app.

"The level of innovation presented by each finalist was impressive and inspiring, and we look forward to seeing their ventures grow and make an impact on the inflammatory bowel disease community," said Karin Hehenberger, MD, PhD, Founder and CEO of Lyfebulb. "There is a significant unmet need within this community for solutions that improve the experience of receiving an accurate diagnosis, effective individualized care, and adequate patient education, and we applaud this group of entrepreneurs for their efforts to ease the burden of living with chronic disease."

The 2021 Innovation Challenge took place virtually over the past two days and was open to entrepreneurs motivated by a personal connection to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) developing new products and solutions that help patients, care partners, and all those affected by IBD to better manage their health, navigate everyday challenges, and improve overall quality of life.

Ten finalists were selected to compete at the Challenge and pitch their companies' solutions to a panel of independent judges from a range of industries, including experts in the fields of business, healthcare, and patient advocacy. Finalists' solutions ranged from biotechnology platforms and diagnostics to virtual clinics, wearables, and other products for consumers and healthcare professionals, and were chosen based on their potential to address the unmet needs of the IBD community and how their relationship to IBD inspired the launch of their ventures.

"Arena is proud to participate in the Challenge and support these entrepreneurs who understand the needs of the IBD community," said Paul Streck, MD, Senior Vice President, Clinical Development, and Chief Medical Officer for Arena Pharmaceuticals. "The finalists showed the bold and innovative thinking needed to create impactful solutions for the millions of patients living with IBD."   

To continue their commitment to patient entrepreneurship and raising awareness about inflammatory bowel disease, Lyfebulb and Arena Pharmaceuticals will be hosting a Fireside Chat with Atray and two members of the jury on Tuesday, September 14 at 4:00pm EDT. This virtual discussion is open to all members of the community, and more information may be found on Lyfebulb.com.

About the Lyfebulb and Arena Partnership
Rooted in the collaborative spirit of the Lyfebulb and Arena partnership and a shared commitment to continuous innovation in patient care, the 2021 Innovation Challenge endeavours to strengthen and engage the IBD community, support the sharing of experiences and insights, identify promising and impactful solutions, and ultimately change lives. The Innovation Challenge is one component of a larger sponsorship between Lyfebulb and Arena to partner directly with IBD patients, support partners and community leaders to accomplish these goals.

About Lyfebulb
Lyfebulb is an innovation accelerator that bridges the gap between patient communities and the healthcare industry by working directly with patients and care partners to generate insights and build new solutions to reduce the burden of living with chronic disease. Lyfebulb operates across 11 disease states and counting. For more information, see Lyfebulb.com, TransplantLyfe.com, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Karin Hehenberger LinkedIn.

About Arena Pharmaceuticals
ARENA Pharmaceuticals is a team with a singular purpose – deliver important medicines to patients. In a rapidly changing treatment landscape, we work with a sense of urgency every day to identify the needs of the GI community and identify bold, sometimes disruptive, ideas to get medicines to patients. It's our determination to help improve the lives of millions of people suffering from GI disorders that inspires us all to relentlessly execute, until it's done. ARENA – Care More. Act Differently.

For more information:

Lyfebulb Contact:
Karin Hehenberger, MD, PhD
CEO & Founder, Lyfebulb
Phone: + 1 917-575-0210
Email: [email protected]

Arena Contact:
Patrick Malloy
Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Phone: +1 847-987-4878
Email: [email protected] 

SOURCE Lyfebulb

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