Leaders in Pharmaceutical Business Intelligence (LPBI) Group

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a chronic and currently incurable disease that affects the walls of the arteries that carry blood to the lungs. In PAH, these arteries constrict abnormally leading to increased blood pressure and extra strain on the heart. Some forms of PAH are hereditary and research at the Cleveland Clinic focuses on characterizing signaling defects resulting from genetic mutations. Experiments require endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) isolated from peripheral blood samples. The EPC are exquisitely sensitive and must be processed and cultured within two hours of a blood draw, thereby limiting the available patient pool. Cleveland Clinic is searching for a new method to preserve EPC in blood, so that samples can be shipped overnight for processing the next day.

Dr. Micheala Aldred of the Cleveland Clinic Genomic Medicine Institute is a translational genetics researcher with a specific interest in pulmonary arterial hypertension. Cleveland Clinic strives to make scientific advances that will benefit patient care and support outside relationships that promise public benefit.

This is a Theoretical Challenge that requires only a written proposal to be submitted.  The Challenge award will be contingent upon theoretical evaluation of the proposal by the Seeker.

To receive an award, the Solvers must transfer to the Seeker their exclusive Intellectual Property (IP) rights to the solution.  However, the Seeker may be willing to consider a licensing agreement for a partial award if exclusive IP cannot be transferred by the Solver.