Johnson & Johnson Innovation and its pharmaceutical arm Janssen Research & Development has announced the seven finalists in the Next-Gen Baby Box QuickFire Challenge, which was focussed on the ‘Baby Box of the future’.

Selected from 135 applicants from across the world, the seven finalists were Connido, callmidwife.com, Elemental Software, iDE8 Ltd, Kuura Health, Small World Social, and Prapela LLC.

The finalists in the challenge, co-organised by Janssen Research & Development, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, and Finnish agencies Sitra, Tekes, and VTT, were said to have been selected for their ‘novel ideas to promote child health, detect childhood disease earlier and facilitate healthy parenting.’

Ben Wiegand, PhD, Global Head, World Without Disease Accelerator, Janssen, “Through the Next-Gen Baby Box QuickFire Challenge, we hope to nurture groundbreaking solutions for the future that contribute to the value of the successful Finnish Baby Box, an 80-year-old program that brings health essentials to newborns and parents.
“With the backdrop of Slush, a premier health/tech startup event, finalists have a unique opportunity to secure support for their innovations, which could have an impact on the trajectory of health for infants in the future.”

Finalists pitched their ideas to a panel of judges during Slush, the Finland-based start-up and technology event, taking place in Helsinki, Finland, yesterday, with the select winners receiving up to $150,000 (USD) in funding, with the potential for more funding for ‘future pilot programs in Finland.’