On May 16th, the Research, Development, and Innovation Center of the Brazil-China Sociocultural Institute and the Ibrawork innovation hub (CPDI Ibrachina/Ibrawork), located at the Unicamp Technology Park, hosted the event Pitch Open Innovation in Health, dedicated to awarding innovative ideas in the healthcare sector.

The event was led by Prof. Dr. Li Li Min, from the School of Medical Sciences at Unicamp (FCM/Unicamp) and Innovation Coordinator at CPDI Ibrachina/Ibrawork. The judging panel was composed of Thomas Law, president of Ibrachina and founder of Ibrawork; Ana Daidone, senior analyst at the Unicamp Innovation Agency (Inova); Marina Luciana da Silva Polozi, Innovation Manager at Inova; Gabriela de Sá, coordinator of the Living Lab of the organization Saúde, Alegria e Sustentabilidade Brasil (SAS Brasil); and Prof. Dr. Carmen Silvia Passos Lima, principal investigator and Innovation Coordinator at CEPID CancerThera.

Five teams presented their innovative projects, followed by a question-and-answer session with the judging panel. In addition to the project presentations, Ana Daidone, from Inova, gave a brief presentation highlighting the support offered by the agency to all participating projects.

Thomas Law announced the winning projects: the platform Tamis-AI, for the early identification of inborn errors of immunity, by Prof. Dr. Marta Duran Fernandez, from the School of Medical Sciences at Unicamp (FCM/Unicamp), and the development of a gel to treat oral mucositis, by Prof. Dr. Mary Ann Foglio, from the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Unicamp (FCF/Unicamp).

The winners will receive an innovation incentive scholarship of R$ 1,500 per month for 12 months, offered by the Empresa Research Scholarship Program of the Unicamp Student Support Service.