WESTCHESTER COUNTY LIFE SCIENCES UPDATE

Westchester County Biosciences Accelerator Pitch Day 2023

The Westchester County Biosciences Accelerator (WCBA)'s fourth cohort of emerging biosciences ventures presented at the annual Pitch Day event on May 11, 2023, at Florence Gould Hall in New York City.

The event featured pitches and presentations from 21 ventures participating in the WCBA and the program in Connecticut (ABCT). A panel of distinguished alumni shared their work that is changing care within biosciences. 

The 2023 WCBA cohort participants and ventures included:

• Chitra Dorai (Independent) – Amicus Brain Innovations, Inc | 11M Americans care for people with dementia, lacking reliable advice, resources and support. Our platform with trusted AI advisors transforms caregiving, extending aging at home.

• Chris Buser (Independent) – BioCubic | BioCubic makes inexpensive, nanoscale tissue imaging data accessible to customers in discovery, clinical research, and diagnostics, enabling earlier and more precise diagnosis of diseases.

• Guadalupe Astorga (Rockefeller University) – Top-down Therapeutics | We create engaging software solutions to help autistic children gain independence in their daily lives based on our neuroscience research in learning and visual perception.

• Justine Witzke (Independent) – Aligneage Fertility | Aligneage Fertility (est. 2023, NYC) is your boutique, human-centered sperm bank and fertility consultancy.

• Kareem Rashid Rumah and Edmondo Campisi (Rockefeller University) – NanoLytx | Leveraging our breakthrough discoveries in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis, we are dedicated to stopping the devastating consequences of this disease at its initial onset.

• Lili Xu (Independent) – New York Huaqi Bioengineering | NYHQBIO has developed a multi-organ preservation platform for 24-hour heart, lung, and liver preservation and 72 hours for kidneys confirmed in small and large animals.

• Neetika Ashwani (Columbia University) – KRIASH | KRIASH improves the adherence of skin-to-skin contact practice in admitted premature-babies to improve health outcomes by wireless tracking and vitals monitoring through a non-invasive medical device.

• Nicolas Tricaud and Cathy Beaumard (Independent) – Nervosave Therapeutics | Nervosave is an early-stage biotech company incorporated in Montpellier, France & New York, USA, with a focus on the prevention and cure of myelin-related disorders.

• Victor Varnado (Independent) – Databinder | DATABINDER automates expert administrative tasks using patent-pending technology and AI, transforming unstructured data into structured formats for efficient analysis across various industries. Seeking funding to scale and form partnerships.

• Yosmayra Reyes and Vikiana Clement (CUNY) – SES Lab | SES LAB is a revolutionary gaming platform that increases positive learning behaviors and diminishes disruptive learning behaviors through the use of AR/VR technology.

Regeneron, Decibel's hearing loss gene therapy trial application gets approval in Spain

Decibel Therapeutics' application to start a trial of its gene therapy DB-OTO to treat children with a type of hearing loss was approved in Spain. Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices approved the clinical trial application for DB-OTO, which is being developed with Greenburgh’s Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to provide durable, hearing in individuals with profound, congenital hearing loss caused by mutations of the otoferlin gene.

The drug has already received clearance to start a trial in the U.S. and the U.K. Decibel expects the trial participants in the U.K. and Spain will be infants two years of age and younger.

Dr. Rafael A. Ortiz named White Plains Hospital’s Director of Neurosciences

White Plains Hospital has named Dr. Rafael A. Ortiz as executive director of neurosciences. In his role, Dr. Ortiz will work with physician, administrative and nursing leadership to enhance the organization’s capabilities as a tertiary level hospital for neurosciences.

Dr. Ortiz most recently served as chief of neuro-endovascular surgery and interventional neuroradiology at Lenox Hill Hospital and the Western Region of the Northwell Health System, and he was also associate professor of neurosurgery, radiology and neurology at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. He is currently the president of the American Heart Association NYC board of directors.

HealthJoy launches Virtual Primary Care in Partnership

with Teladoc

HealthJoy is a healthcare navigation platform that aims to simplify the experience for employees by making it easier for them to understand, and use, their benefits. The goal is to drive benefits satisfaction, improve care outcomes, improve employee satisfaction, and reduce HR burden. 



Its suite of offerings includes adult and adolescent mental health, chronic care management, dermatology, employee assistance program services, musculoskeletal therapy, nutrition, tobacco cessation, and urgent care. Now, the company is adding primary care as well, through an expanded partnership with whole-person virtual care provider Westchester’s Teladoc Health.

Healthjoy and Teladoc first announced their partnership in July of last year, with an initial focus on providing virtual urgent care, mental health, and chronic care services. Combining Teladoc Health’s virtual care suite and HealthJoy's care navigation platform has led to a 21.9% annualized utilization rate for telemedicine, compared to the industry average of 9%.  

UPCOMING EVENTS

inFUZEd Marketing Meetup: Where Customer Journeys and Content Strategies

Collide to Increase Engagement and Sales

How can you move a lead from cold to warm to hot, and convert them into a manufacturing client? Customer journey mapping can be a useful exercise in helping marketers better understand where opportunities exist to effectively engage both potential and existing clients. It can also identify gaps that might be hindering your ability to close a sale or build lasting loyalty and repeat sales. 

Date: Tuesday, May 23

Time: 11:00 AM

Register

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