FAQ

What is “The Quest Award – Solutions to End Cervical Cancer”?

Genentech is soliciting bold new solutions from start-up and healthcare communities in an effort to identify viable and impactful digital solutions for eradicating Cervical Cancer. The company has invited scientific and technology leaders to volunteer their time to join the judging panel and spread the word.

The startup challenge will launch in January 2016 during Cervical Cancer Awareness month.   A network of more than 3,000 entrepreneurs will be invited to participate and submit their solutions in five categories: Awareness, Education, Screening Technologies, Reducing Stigma and Other. With the help of thought leaders the judging team will select five finalists who will be invited to a live finalist event.

The finalist event will bring together leaders from the provider, payer, patient, therapeutics, tech, and funding arenas to celebrate the shared commitment to fight Cervical Cancer and giving women a better chance to avoid this deadly disease. The event will take in San Francisco at the beginning of April. The top five teams will present their solutions in person to a live panel of judges, who will then award the cash prize of $50k to support the further development of the winning idea.

 

What are some of the key issues surrounding Cervical Cancer?

One of the key issues surrounding Cervical Cancer is around screening and awareness. Screening and treatment provide curative intervention in ~95% of women, yet in the US ≥8M women have not been screened within the last five years, and nearly 4K die from cervical cancer annually. Head to the Education Section to learn more.

 

Who is managing the back end of this competition?

The competition back end was built and being managed by YouNoodle.

YouNoodle is a data-driven startup recruitment engine and customized end-to-end platform for the creation, management, and judging of startup competitions. Top universities, corporations, accelerators, as well as governments use YouNoodle’s tools to host challenges and judging processes, recruit high-potential entrepreneurs, and grow their startup ecosystems. Having facilitated more than 400 international competitions across 100 countries, YouNoodle has created a global talent network of more than 50,000 startups and has become a premier resource for expanding access to the best ideas and brightest talent across the globe.

 

Why are you launching this initiative?

Genentech is seeking to take a leadership role, in partnership with other key stakeholders, in the prevention of cervical cancer by:

• Educating women on the impact/need for appropriate screening.
• Ensuring access to testing for all women by increasing awareness of existing screening resources.
• Supporting the removal of barriers to make it easier for women to follow through with their screening schedule

 

Who are the judges?

The judges are a group of thought leaders in the a variety of areas that Genentech invited to voluntarily participate in this challenge.

 

When will the winner be announced?

The winner will be announced at the finalist event on April 4^th 2016.

 

Is the finalist event open to the public?

To ensure startups get exposure to the most relevant audience, the finalist event is invitation only. Suggestions are welcome. The online judges will be invited to attend the finalist event.

 

How can I participate?

Please help us get the word out and share this challenge with the startup community. You can participate by applying to the challenge if you have a solution to end cervical cancer. If you are interested in judging, please contact us.