From left to right: Ethan Byler (BHI), Mark Fitzgerald (Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati), Kevin Colbert (LifeSprout/Johns Hopkins), Rich Bendis (Moderator/BHI)
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, April 24, 2017 –Out of five startup companies selected to present in front of a panel of industry leaders at the 2017 BioHealth Capital Region Forum, LifeSprout was chosen to have the most commercial potential at the 2nd Annual Crab Trap Competition.This year the event was moderated by BHI President & CEO, Rich Bendis. Judges included industry leaders from Verily Life Systems, Roche, Inova Strategic Investments, New Enterprise Associates, AstraZeneca, and Blu Venture Investors. LifeSprout impressed judges with a presentation by Kevin Colbert, Director of Operations, on their next-generation of synthetic soft tissue substitutes for aesthetic and reconstructive medicine. Their first-in-class bioresorbable, nanofiber-hydrogel composites are formulated to match the stiffness of native soft tissues without compromising their porosity. LifeSprout is a Johns Hopkins University startup.
“This was an exceptionally strong group of participants, and LifeSprout along with the other finalists should be proud of their accomplishments.” said Richard Bendis, BHI President & CEO. “I would like to thank all the participants in addition to our judges and sponsors who helped make this competition possible.”
Founded by BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) and MedImmune in 2016, the Crab Trap Competition focuses on companies in therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices, healthcare services, e-health, mobile health, electronic medical records, health informatics, and biohealth cyber security. The grand prize this year is $10,000, incubation space in either Prince William County, VA or Montgomery Country, MD, and business mentoring.
About the BioHealth Capital Region
The BioHealth Capital Region (BHCR) consisting of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC is the prominent BioHealth cluster in the Mid-Atlantic. The BHCR encompasses more than 800 life sciences companies, over 70 federal labs and world-class academic and research institutions. According to Genetic Engineering News (May 2016), the BHCR is ranked 4th in Top Biopharma Clusters in the country. The BHCR brand represents collaboration among leading stakeholders with a collective goal to make the BHCR a top 3 biohealth cluster by 2023. http://www.biohealthcapital.com/
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Media contacts:
Richard Bendis
Phone: 301-637-6439, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.