The competition is initiated by the Innovation House in cooperation with the Ukrainian Medical Association of the United Kingdom (UMAUK). Medical & Biological Startup Challenge 2018 is aimed to provide support for medicine-related projects on different stages of development, starting from innovative ideas to prototypes and finished solutions. Dozens of researchers will have a unique opportunity to present their creative medicine-focused projects to British and Ukrainian medical experts, investors, and entrepreneurs. Among the honorable judges will be Max Polyakov, Managing Partner at Noosphere Ventures, Alexander Voznyak, the Head of the Center of General Neurosurgery and Neurovascular Pathology of the Clinical Hospital “Feofaniya” and the Vice President of the Ukrainian Association of Neurosurgeons, as well as Michael Ryabokon, co-founder of Association Noosphere, and Nana Voytenko, the Head of the Sensor signaling department of the Bohomolets Institute of Physiology. The final stages of the contest will be held in Kyiv and London in May 2018. The finalists will demonstrate their projects to prove they are ready to attract investment. Furthermore, the competitors will also be able to take part in numerous discussions of industry leaders on the potentials of medicine and healthcare. Max Polyakov shows exceptional interest in medicinal startups since he is an expert not only in the digital economy but also in healthcare. He earned a master’s degree in medicine and introduced his doctoral thesis in economics in early 2013. Max Polyakov is also known as a co-founder of the Vernadsky Challenge, an annual startup competition for young scientists, researchers, engineers, and developers that have been held since 2015. Every year at least one medical startup was among the winners of the contest. Thus, in 2017, the Cardiomo project took second place, while in 2015, an innovative Medical Bioton device took an honorable third place. Numerous solutions that took part in the competition are currently conquering the world market. It is also worth mentioning that Max Polyakov, Managing Partner at Noosphere Ventures, is paying more attention to medicine-related projects, since Noosphere’s portfolio includes numerous medical companies, such as Circle Medical, Thync, and KangarooHealth.
