January 31st, 2024 – Johnson & Johnson Innovation announced today at the Innovation Ignited workshop at JLABS @ SSF that Rattan Life Science, SharpArrow and Velorum Therapeutics have been selected as the awardees in the Bay Area Health Equity QuickFire Challenge. Aligned with Johnson & Johnson’s Our Race to Health Equity (ORTHE) Initiative, this challenge aimed to propel healthier outcomes by advancing health equity-focused startups in the Bay Area.
Innovators from across the globe with an active interest in the San Francisco innovation ecosystem were invited to submit groundbreaking ideas, technologies, and potential solutions aiming to improve health equity and outcomes for all patients. The awardees hope to nurture San Francisco’s outstanding innovation ecosystem and spearhead innovative solutions to advance health equity and access to care for patients on a global scale.
Rattan Life Science - Rattan is an early-stage startup developing a novel induced Thymic Niche (iTN) platform using induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC) technology to enable clinically relevant T cell differentiation and generate iPSC-derived naïve T cells with durable stemness for off-the-shelf cell-based immunotherapies. Rattan Life Science’s approach aims to reduce the cost of current autologous CAR-T therapies, thereby making treatment more accessible for patients, including communities of color.
SharpArrow - SharpArrow's laser system can perform tissue cutting, ablating and sealing functions, and has been designed to supplant monopolar electrosurgical (ES) devices, especially in robotic/minimally invasive surgeries. SharpArrow aims to reduce healthcare disparities by ensuring efficacy of their potential solution across diverse patient groups, including communities of color.
Velorum Therapeutics - Velorum Therapeutics is developing breakthrough cancer therapies attacking tumor metabolism. Based on the discovery that deadly cancers are addicted to a molecule called ‘heme’, which is needed to make energy, they've designed drugs to starve cancers of heme. Velorum aims to specifically improve health outcomes for communities of color by developing metabolic targeted therapies for lung cancer, which disproportionately affects communities of color.
The awardees will receive grant funding from a total pool of $100,000, one year of residency at JLABS @ SSF, with the use of one bench and one workstation, access to the global Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS network, and mentorship from experts across Johnson & Johnson.*
*Subject to terms and conditions of applicable Quickfire Challenge and execution of all relevant and necessary award agreements
About Johnson & Johnson Innovation
Johnson & Johnson Innovation works across the pharmaceutical and medical technology sectors to accelerate early-stage, transformational solutions by catalyzing the best ideas, wherever they are in the world. We do this by harnessing our deep scientific capabilities coupled with a wide range of tools, including customized deal structures, company creation, incubation and startup services, capital investments and other innovative business models that aim to meet the diverse needs of entrepreneurs, scientists and emerging companies. Our goal is to help life science and health technology innovations thrive through collaboration and partnership with the global ecosystem, so that together we can change the trajectory of human health. Meet our passionate team of science and technology experts and learn how to collaborate with us at www.jnjinnovation.com.Social Media Schedule
