Malaysians Invited to RM1 Million Digital Innovation Challenge

Thursday, 23 November 2017, 08:00 HKT/SGT

Ascensia Diabetes Care Combats Type 2 Diabetes with Global Innovation Competition

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - Ascensia Diabetes Care, a global specialist diabetes care company, recently launched a global innovation competition for innovative digital solutions to support diabetes management and improve the lives of those living with type 2 diabetes.

The competition, named Ascensia Diabetes Challenge, aims to find new ideas to address and manage the global epidemic of type 2 diabetes. Winners of this contest will walk away with a prize fund worth close to RM1 million (EUR 200,000) in total to support the development of their ideas.

Maximilian Lim Swee Leong, Business Manager of Ascensia Diabetes Care Malaysia, said "In today's world, it is an undeniable fact that more and more people are embracing the digital transformation. It has changed the way we look and live our lives. Similarly, in healthcare, there are vast opportunities to leverage on technology and innovate products in a way that was not possible in the past."

"As we all know, diabetes is one of the top five epidemic diseases in Malaysia. The National Health and Morbidity Survey 2015 by the Ministry of Health revealed that approximately 17.5% Malaysians aged 18 and above have diabetes. This marked an increase of 2.3% compared to 15.2% in 2011. Clearly, there is a need to seek for new ways to manage this disease."

"Ascensia is launching this global challenge to find the best solution for diabetes. As the world's leading diabetes care solutions provider, we are committed to continued research, innovation and development of new solutions to help the diabetes community. Through this challenge, we hope to find, support and nurture ideas from budding innovators that have the potential to revolutionize diabetes management. As Malaysians are technologically savvy and creative, we are confident that Malaysian innovators can fare well in this global challenge, if not win it," Lim added.

Ascensia Diabetes Challenge is open to all Malaysians. To participate, one needs to submit their entry at www.ascensiadiabeteschallenge.com.

A judging panel, made up of independent experts from diabetes and digital health from across the world, as well as members of the Ascensia Medical, R&D and Commercial teams, will assess the entries and determine finalists and the winner. Dr. William Polonsky, a clinical psychologist; Dr. Masood Nazir, a general practitioner with special interest in diabetes and digital health; and Robin Swindell, a type 2 diabetes blogger, have been confirmed as the first three judges.

Dr. William Polonsky, President and Co-Founder of the Behavioral Diabetes Institute, San Diego, USA, explained, "Behavioral interventions are the key to enhancing self-management in type 2 diabetes, and digital solutions are desperately needed as a means to engage patients over the long-term and enable sustainable behavior change. Unfortunately, current digital solutions have not yet been able to fully address the needs of patients or effectively support self-management and long-term behaviour change. I am thrilled to be part of the Ascensia Diabetes Challenge to try and find the next innovations to address the burden of type 2 diabetes."

Robin Swindell, a person with type 2 diabetes and active blogger from the UK said, "Like most patients with type 2 diabetes, I only see a healthcare professional for a couple of hours a year at most. For the rest of the time, we rely on self-management. We need to find innovative digital solutions that can better support self-management for us. Solutions need to be able to be personalized and fit into their lives. I am delighted to be involved in this challenge and hope it will unearth an innovation that can make a real impact for me and other patients."

Ascensia has partnered with yet2, an open innovation services company, for this global challenge. yet2 will be managing the submission process and initial review of entries. Leveraging on their experience in innovation challenges, they will review the entries, manage intellectual property screening and support the judging process.

Please visit the Ascensia Diabetes Care website at www.ascensia.com for details.

About Ascensia Diabetes Care

Ascensia Diabetes Care is a global specialist diabetes care company, dedicated to helping people living with diabetes. Our mission is to empower people living with diabetes through innovative solutions that simplify and improve their lives. We use our innovation and specialist expertise in diabetes to develop high-quality solutions and tools that make a positive, daily difference for people with diabetes.

Home to the world-renowned CONTOUR(R) portfolio of blood glucose monitoring systems, our products combine advanced technology with user-friendly functionality that helps people with diabetes to manage their condition. We are committed to continued research, innovation, and development of new products and solutions. As a trusted partner in the diabetes community, we collaborate closely with healthcare professionals and other partners to ensure our products meet the highest standards of accuracy, precision and reliability, and that we conduct our business compliantly and with integrity.

Ascensia Diabetes Care was established in 2016 through the sale of Bayer Diabetes Care to Panasonic Healthcare Holdings Co., Ltd. Ascensia Diabetes Care products are sold in more than 125 countries. Ascensia Diabetes Care has around 1,700 employees and operations in 33 countries. Ascensia and Contour are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Ascensia Diabetes Care. www.ascensia.com.

About yet2

yet2 operates at the hub of the global technology market. Since 1999, we have been an Open Innovation services company working for an international corporate client base. We leverage our global network of affiliates, the 140,000+ users of our online technology marketplace, a proprietary database of several million data points, and our offices in North America, Europe, and Asia to scout cutting-edge companies and technology beyond the reach of most clients.

yet2 provides hands-on technology transfer services in the areas of targeted technology scouting, strategic dealflow, Open Innovation portal management, innovation tours and anonymous deals - bringing our Open Innovation clients hundreds of millions of dollars in value. Contact us at yet2.com to learn more about how we can help you unlock your innovation potential. www.yet2.com.

Issued on behalf of Ascensia Diabetes Care Malaysia.
Please contact I-Mae Liew at +60 (0)12 383 5688 or Michael Poh at 012-392 5202.

Topic: Press release summary
Source: Ascensia Diabetes Care
Sectors: Daily News, Healthcare & Pharm
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