Luminoah Wins 8th Annual Crab Trap Competition at BioHealth Capital Region Forum
Rockville, MD, September 22, 2023 — Luminoah, a MedTech startup located in Charlottesville, VA, dedicated to improving the lives of people requiring enteral feeding, emerged as the top company at the 8th Annual Crab Trap Competition, held as part of this year’s BioHealth Capital Region Forum. The event, which took place on September 20th, showcased Luminoah's innovative wearable system, designed to optimize compliance and clinical outcomes through the integration of durable medical equipment, consumable nutrition pouches, and remote patient monitoring.
Neal Piper, Founder & CEO of Luminoah, delivered an outstanding presentation highlighting the company's groundbreaking technology. Luminoah's wearable system represents a significant advancement in the field of enteral feeding, offering an innovative solution to enhance patient care.
"In this year's competition, we witnessed an exceptional level of innovation and dedication from all participating companies," said Rich Bendis, President & CEO of BioHealth Innovation, Inc., who also moderated the event. "With over 50 applications to compete, this has been the strongest year yet. The judges faced the challenging task of selecting the top company, a testament to the high caliber of innovation in the BioHealth space. I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the judges, sponsors, and all the companies that competed, making this event a remarkable showcase of innovation within the life sciences and healthcare industries."
In recognition of their achievement, Luminoah was awarded a $10,000 prize from Greenberg Traurig, LLP, and $10,000 in Preclinical Contract Research Organization (CRO) services from Noble Life Sciences Inc., presented by CEO Srujana Cherukuri, Ph.D.
Other notable winners at the competition included Solaxa, a phase III clinical-ready biopharmaceutical startup dedicated to improving the lives of patients suffering from nerve damage. Solaxa received $25,000 from the Montgomery County Government to a firm headquartered in the county. Mobius Scientific was also recognized for their groundbreaking work on the Mobius Disc platform biologic optimized for cholesterol removal in tissues and was granted a one-year residency at Johnson and Johnson Innovation’s JLABS @ Washington, D.C., a valuable opportunity for further development.
Several other companies participated in this year's competition, showcasing their innovative solutions to address healthcare challenges. Uzi Ron with EyeControl, hailing from Tel Aviv, Israel, presented their AI-based, smart, screenless, wearable eye-tracking communication solution, while and Elaine Haynes with KaloCyte, Inc. from Baltimore, Maryland, introduced ErythroMer, a dried, bio-inspired artificial red blood cell.
The distinguished panel of judges for the Crab Trap Competition included:
- Sally Allain, Head, Johnson & Johnson Innovation JLABS @ Washington, D.C.
- Charles Andres, Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig, LLP.
- Conley Jones, Principal- Science & Technology, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc./ Alexandria Venture Investments
- Daniel Keating, Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
- John Newby, Chief Executive Officer, Virginia Biotechnology Association
- Katherine Hill Ritchie, Senior Director, Venture Funds, TEDCO
- Brett Shealy, Executive Director, Life Sciences Banking, J.P. Morgan
All five companies: Luminoah, Solaxa, Mobius, KaloCyte, and EyeControl presented again on September 21st at the 6th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Investment Conference. This year's event features a new addition—seven-minute quick pitches in the USP auditorium while companies and investors engage in breakout room meetings. Over 30 companies and 6 investors participated in these quick pitches throughout the day.