San Francisco, CA – March 10, 2015 – Finalists for the “Dermatology Shark Tank” have been selected by the business competition review committee of the Dermatology Entrepreneurship Conference (DEC). The winner will be announced at the DEC meeting, which is being held on Thursday March 19 in San Francisco, immediately preceding the 2015 American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting.
The Dermatology Shark Tank is the DEC’s own version of the popular reality show Shark Tank, in which entrepreneurial contestants present business plans of their product or service to a panel of expert and successful investors. The sampling of submissions includes individuals who have received entrepreneurial recognition in the press or in other business competitions, have raised investor money, are backed by institutions and individuals with a significant track record in product innovation, are subject matter experts in their field, and/or represent universities that provide entrepreneurial programs and support.
The purpose of the Dermatology Shark Tank, according to Frederick Beddingfield III, MD, PhD, the contest’s chair, is to help build and nurture the dermatology entrepreneurial ecosystem. “We were pleased by the number of aspiring entrepreneurs with truly interesting ideas who applied to this new contest as part of the inaugural Dermatology Entrepreneurship Conference. Our “sharks” are excited to hear about the opportunities. If the Dermatology Shark tank helps foster promising innovative ideas in an engaging and entertaining forum, it will be a great success,” said Dr. Beddingfield, chief medical officer of Kythera Biopharmaceuticals and an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine/Dermatology at UCLA.
The finalists include:
The “Sharks” comprising the judging panel are Camille Samuels, MBA, Partner, Venrock; Douglas S. Ingram, JD, President, Allergan, Inc.; James Glasheen, PhD, General Partner, Technology Partners; and John Doux, MD, MBA, FAAD, Investor, Palo Alto Investors. The winner of the contest will receive a $15,000 cash prize.
In addition to the Dermatology Shark Tank, 15 applications have been selected as finalists for the DEC Poster Business Competition. Two winners will be announced at the DEC meeting, and each will receive a $2,500 cash prize. Titles, presenters, and summaries of the poster finalists can be viewed at http://bit.ly/dermatology-conference. For live updates during the DEC show, follow @Advancing_Derm on Twitter and use the hashtag #decSF to join the conversation.
The Inaugural Dermatology Entrepreneurship Conference, an Advancing Innovation in Dermatology, Inc. meeting, will focus on fostering the early development of innovative products and services by physicians and entrepreneurs for dermatologic health. Held the day prior to the start of the annual American Academy of Dermatology meeting, the conference will serve to inspire and educate physicians and entrepreneurs in the skills and steps necessary to bring forward their ideas and inventions. It will simultaneously function as a networking event for cultivating an entrepreneurial ecosystem that includes physicians, researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, strategic corporate partners, service providers, and other stakeholders.
For more information on the conference, please visit www.dermsummit.com/dec.
Conference location:
Grand Hyatt San Francisco
345 Stockton Street
San Francisco, CA
415-398-1234
Media Contact:
Amy Phillips
Pascale Communications, LLC
amy@pascalecommunications.com
412.327.9499
