The District is partnering with Johnson & Johnson Innovation to provide grants to startups working to address chronic health care challenges faced in underserved D.C. communities — and then give them a home to make their idea a reality.
Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration, in collaboration with J&J Innovation and the Washington, D.C. Economic Partnership, announced Thursday the launch of a "QuickFire Challenge" focused on the District. WDCEP will make four awards from an existing grant totaling $250,000 — no less than $50,000 each — to up to four “innovators,” who will then be offered a home inside the new JLabs incubator on the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus.
“We are committed to creating a society that provides equitable access to healthc are and prioritizes the continued health and wellness of all residents,” Bowser said in a statement.
Applicants will be judged by an expert panel based on their ability to address scientific gaps in health care. Criteria will include uniqueness of the idea, potential impact on human health, feasibility, thoroughness of the approach, identification of resources and a plan to further the proposal. The deadline to apply is June 11.
The 32,000-square-foot JLabs, now open, is housed within the new Children’s National Research & Innovation campus. As the Washington Business Journal’s Sara Gilgore recently reported, it is welcoming its first group of resident companies including digital dermatology clinic K’ept Health, antiviral drug developer Lab11 Therapeutics, digital health company Acclinate and two Children’s National spinouts: AlgometRx and Adipomics.
The 12-acre Children's campus, located within a D.C. opportunity zone, has up to a million square feet of lab and research space for expansion.
