Kirkland-based 2Morrow, Inc. has won the 2017 Seattle MedTech Innovator Qualifying Round Competition for its innovative software work in behavioral change and healthy living.
The software company will advance in the global competition and will be featured in the MedTech Innovator Showcase at The MedTech Conference in September in San Jose, Calif., the largest annual gathering of medical technology professionals in North America. As part of its prize at the Seattle pitch event, 2Morrow received a scholarship from the WINGS: The Medical Technology Angels, which will pay for attendance and presentation at the conference.
“It was a tremendous honor to win the MedTech Innovator Qualifying Round among so many other outstanding companies,” CEO of 2Morrow Brandon Masterson said. “Support and mentorship from WINGS and MedTech Innovator are critical to our industry throughout the Pacific Northwest.”
2Morrow’s smoking cessation program is the first app-based program clinically shown to help smokers quit, according to the company. The program was first created by behavioral scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle in collaboration with the digital health experts at 2Morrow.
With grant support from the Life Science Discovery Fund, 2Morrow brought the SmartQuit program from lab to market, noting that thousands of patients have already utilized the app. Washington state smokers who want to quit can get the SmartQuit program for free from the Washington State Department of Health.
MedTech Innovator is a nonprofit global competition for early to mid-stage companies focused on medical devices, digital health and diagnostics. Similar qualifying round pitch events are being held in 2017 in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Houston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Boston, Atlanta and Dublin, Ireland.
More than 35 companies applied to pitch in Seattle, along with 600 applicants globally. Of the 35 Seattle applicants, MedTech Innovator selected just nine to participate in 20-minute pitch presentations.
MedTech Innovator CEO Paul Grand said that 2Morrow was an unanimous pick among the judges.
“2Morrow has the potential to significantly improve the lives of patients. Their evidence-based behavior-change solution for smoking cessation is exactly the type of transformative innovation that we were seeking,” Grand said.
The panel included a distinguished lineup of medical technology leaders, WINGS Angel Investors and national experts from MedTech Innovator. The day-long event also included a presentation from 2016 winner Caitlin Cameron, CEO of OtoNexus Medical Technologies, who spoke about the impact of winning and growth at her company.
MedTech Innovator will hold its Value Award Competition during the Wilson Sonsini Medical Device Conference in San Francisco on June 2. The 2017 MedTech Innovator Finals at The MedTech Conference will take place Sept. 26 in San Jose with $500,000 in prizes for the winners.
