Bayer announces winners of its apps contest

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – Grants4AppsToronto (G4AToronto), a new open innovation program to foster and support digital health technology in Canada, developed by Bayer Inc. (Bayer Canada), has announced its three finalists of their 2017 Toronto program.

These selected start-ups will receive office space for 88 days at Bayer Canada’s headquarters in Canada, where representatives from Bayer Canada senior management will offer them top-level mentoring to develop their idea. In addition, Bayer Canada will provide financial support of $10,000 to each of the startups.

Bayer Canada congratulates:

• Avro Life Science – A preclinical stage, over- the- counter, medicated skin patch that is being developed to deliver seasonal allergy medicine without the hassle of pills and syrups.
• Mozzaz Patient Engagement For Complex Care – Provider-led patient engagement app that collects quantitative and qualitative data in active and passive sources for data correlation and predictive analytics, which is being developed for use in clinical trials.
• HeartWatch – a wrist-based device that uses proprietary ECG technology to detect minor and major heart events, automating emergency response and allowing doctors to monitor patients at home, which is currently being investigated in clinical trials.

“The ideas that were submitted from Canadian digital health startups were truly inspiring because although technology has become an integral part of everyday life, there is still so much opportunity to improve patient health,” said Shurjeel Choudhri (pictured), senior vice president and head, medical & scientific affairs, Bayer Canada.

“We are excited to support these startups to get their ideas off the ground with mentoring support from our employees. While Grants4Apps has been Bayer’s open innovation program for five years, we are proud of the first-ever Canadian version that supports local entrepreneurs who are looking to create value for physicians and patients through innovative technology.”

The three finalists were selected by a jury that included senior members of Bayer Canada as well as Rick Spence, national entrepreneurship columnist, Financial Post and Melloney Campbell, founder & startup community lead for Startup Peel.

The 2017 Grants4Apps Toronto program runs from June to October, 2017. The program will include a Demo Day in October where the startups will present the hardware, software, and business models they created during their time in the program.

For more information please visit http://grants4apps.com/Toronto and to stay informed, follow us on twitter @G4AToronto.

About Bayer: Science For A Better Life
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of healthcare and agriculture. Its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In fiscal 2016, the Group employed around 115,200 people and had sales of EUR 46.8 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 2.6 billion, R&D expenses to EUR 4.7 billion. These figures include those for the high-tech polymers business, which was floated on the stock market as an independent company named Covestro on October 6, 2015. For more information, go to www.bayer.ca.