Applications Invited for the Horizon Prize: 2023

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About the Organization

Solve is an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a mission to drive innovation to solve world challenges. Solve is a marketplace for social impact innovation. Through open innovation Challenges, Solve finds incredible tech-based social entrepreneurs all around the world. Solve then brings together MIT’s innovation ecosystem and a community of Members to fund and support these entrepreneurs to help them drive lasting, transformational impact.

About the Grant

Roughly 85% of biomedical research funding is wasted due to inefficiencies, highlighting the opportunity to decrease waste and redundancies while increasing the impact of research and development investments. For the 10% of people affected by rare disease – a population with notably inefficient and expensive diagnostic journeys – increased sustainability could shorten diagnostic timelines, decrease carbon emissions, and allow research funding to go further – resulting in more treatments for patients. As a result, we need solutions that lead to better rare disease R&D outcomes while also decreasing environmental costs.

US and European regulators are increasing emissions reporting requirements for companies, including Scope 3 emissions, which create new market opportunities for solutions. These solutions could improve physical access to specialists and research trial centers or disrupt the prevalence of single-use plastics by introducing supply chain interventions like circularity or alternative packaging. Data-sharing, proper incentives, and patient involvement in research could also reduce redundancies and their associated environmental costs.

The 2023 Horizon Prize, powered by MIT Solve, seeks technology-based solutions that decrease carbon footprints in the rare disease healthcare space, while centering patient priorities. To that end, the Prize seeks a wide variety of solutions that:

• Improve the rare disease patient diagnostic journey – reducing the time, cost, resources, and duplicative travel and testing for patients and caregivers
• Enhance efficiencies in clinical trials and research, including data collection and sharing
• Reduce single-use products, unnecessary plastics, and medical/hazardous waste throughout research and manufacturing
• Create and promote alternative packaging that may be reusable, recyclable, or biodegradable without compromising sterility or safety
• Optimize transportation of supplies and treatments by addressing shipping inefficiencies, cold storage, and last-mile delivery

Solution applications must be written in English. We welcome both early-stage and growth-stage solutions to submit their applications.

 

Early-stage solutions include:

• Prototype: A solution or organization that is building and testing its product, service, or business model. If for-profit, a new company getting off the ground that has raised little or no institutional capital (less than $500,000) in pre-seed fundraising.
• Pilot: A solution or organization that is deploying a tested product, service, or business model in at least one community. If for-profit, a young company that is working to gain traction and that has raised less than $2 million in institutional capital in seed funding.

Growth-stage solutions include:

• Growth: A solution or organization with an established product, service, or business model rolled out in one or, ideally, several communities, which is poised for further growth in multiple communities or countries. If for-profit, an early-stage company that has established a track record and is seeking to raise a round of roughly $2 million to $15 million in institutional capital in a Series A or potentially B round.
• Scale: A solution or organization that is working in several communities or countries. It is looking to scale significantly, focusing on increased efficiency. If for-profit, a successful company that is scaling its operations and seeks to raise a round of more than $15 million in institutional capital.

The most important thing is that your solution addresses the focus of the Horizon Prize 2023. Solutions may be narrowly focused on a product innovation or broadly focused on a tech platform that focuses on a systems based solution. We encourage people of all backgrounds to submit their applications.

Grant size

$150,000 in prize funding is available for one winning solution team for the 2023 Horizon Prize.

Who can Apply

Applicants can be an individual, a team, or an organization. Solutions can be any type of organization, including but not limited to nonprofit, for-profit, or hybrid organizations. However, US law prevents MIT Solve from awarding funds to persons ordinarily resident in Iran, Cuba, Syria, North Korea, Crimea, Russia, and Belarus, or from parties blocked by the US Treasury Department.

The Horizon Prize encourages and actively seeks solutions led by people with rare diseases and underrepresented groups and identities. 

Applicants to previous Solve Challenges, including the 2021 and 2022 Horizon Prize, are invited to apply for the 2023 Horizon Prize.

Winning solutions for the 2021 and 2022 Horizon Prize are not eligible to participate in the 2023 Horizon Prize.

How to Apply

Deadline: June 23, 2023

Submit a Solution

For more information please check the Link

Tags Healthcare and Healthtech Research Others