Boehringer Ingelheim and Ashoka Changemakers announce winners of Transforming Health Systems competition

The three winning business models announced today in the “Transforming Health Systems: Gamechanging Business Models” online competition provide innovative solutions to critical problems in health systems around the world. The competition, which is part of the global partnership between Boehringer Ingelheim and Ashoka called “Making More Health, received 264 entries from 61 countries since it was launched by Boehringer Ingelheim and Ashoka Changemakers in January 2013.

“We were thrilled by the level of innovation demonstrated by the competition entries,” said Andreas Barner, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors at Boehringer Ingelheim. “The winning business models point toward the future of health systems: innovative service delivery models and new partnerships that make health care more efficient and more valuable for patients.”

The winning business models are:

• Registries for ALL: Reg4ALL, submitted by Registries for All—First prize
  Reg4ALL is the world’s first ever participant-controlled, cross-disease registry for health and disease data. The Reg4ALL platform enables patients to connect with researchers who need participants for life-saving clinical trials.
• Improving Access to Oral Healthcare, submitted by Sarrell Dental—Second prize
  Sarrell Dental, the only full-time Medicaid provider in Alabama, offers quality dental care to children covered by Medicaid. The non-profit’s bold business model has allowed it to scale dramatically, all while lowering the cost of care to the government.
• Sucre Blue, submitted by Sucre Blue—Idea prize
  Sucre Blue trains and employs low-income village women outside of Bangalore to become community health workers that provide low-cost diabetes diagnostic services in rural communities.

“Once again, our partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim surfaced important innovations that represent leaps forward for patients, care givers, and health delivery systems,” said Ashoka President Diana Wells. “These winners and finalists are a great example of the kind of gamechanging entrepreneurship that brings us closer to the Everyone A Changemaker reality Ashoka envisions for the future.”

The first and second prize winners were selected by a vote of the Ashoka Changemakers online community after the competition’s expert judges chose the top six finalists. The first and second prize winners will receive US $30,000 and US $15,000, respectively.

The third idea prize of US $10,000 was awarded by Boehringer Ingelheim to recognize a highly innovative idea that has not yet reached the business building phase. In addition to the cash prizes, the winners have the opportunity to access consulting services delivered by Boehringer Ingelheim’s Corporate Strategy & Development Department. All finalists have also been invited to apply for an additional funding envelope of US $30,000.

More information about the winners and finalists is available at the competition web site: www.changemakers.com/healthbiz