Dengue Digital Innovation Challenge

Improving Dengue Prevention and Vaccination in Latin America

What Can You Win?
A dedicated point of contact at Takeda
  • Direct response about collaboration at the end of the Innovation Challenge
  • Fully funded process and support to define roadmap for partnership between you and Takeda
Takeda’s resources & expertise
  • Expert support to bring your innovation to commercialization
  • Dedicated budget to fund collaborations with the winners of the Challenge
  • Benefit from Takeda’s international network of partners and suppliers
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Why a Digital Health Innovation Challenge?

Takeda is committed to bringing better health and a brighter future to people worldwide through leading innovation in medicine. As a patient-driven, science-first R&D organization, Takeda combines cutting-edge technologies with a focus on core therapeutic areas: Oncology, Rare Diseases, Neuroscience, Gastroenterology, Plasma-Derived Therapies and Vaccines.

Takeda is accelerating the use of digital and data to speed delivery of life-saving medicines, while also easing the burden of diagnosis and treatment for patients, their families and healthcare providers. Innovation across the entire healthcare ecosystem holds the key to fully unlocking the power of digital and data for improved patient outcomes.

Takeda is proud to be patient-centric and partner-focused.

To make a bigger impact on peoples’ lives, Takeda is opening its doors to new partnerships that will accelerate the future of personalized healthcare.

Takeda's Dengue Digital Innovation Challenge calls for ideas and solutions that have the potential to improve Dengue prevention, disease education and awareness, establish more secure and trusted vaccine supply chains, help optimize vaccine strategies, and generate evidence about effectiveness and outcomes of vaccination.

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Why digital health innovation for Dengue?

Understand the disease and the challenge.

  • Dengue is a viral disease that can affect anyone, irrespective of age, socioeconomic status, health, or location. [1, 2.]
  • Dengue was recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the top ten threats to global health in 2019. The incidence of dengue has risen 30-fold in the past 50 years and is now prevalent in more than 100 countries, in both rural and urban areas. [1, 3, 4]
  • Dengue infection can lead to hospitalization, occasionally resulting in severe illness and even death. The risk of severe dengue increases in a secondary infection. [1]
  • Dengue is underreported as it is often self-managed and mis-diagnosed, and is confounded by challenges associated with current surveillance methods. [5]
  • Dengue outbreaks can overwhelm healthcare systems, limiting quality of care of dengue and other diseases due to strained resources and lack of capacity. [5]
  • Dengue has a broad economic and societal burden, including risk of inequitable health and economic outcomes for vulnerable population. [1, 5]
  • There is no specific treatment for dengue, and it can be difficult to diagnose, making prevention, such as vaccination, a priority. [1,6]
  • Takeda's Dengue Digital Innovation Challenge invites solutions from Latin American startups and scaleups to improve disease prevention and reduce the burden of Dengue.
  • [1] World Health Organization. Factsheet. Dengue and Severe Dengue. March 2023. Retrieved July 2023. [2] Watts, M.J., Kotsila, P., Mortyn, P.G., Sarto i Monteys, V. and Urzi Brancati, C., 2020. Influence of socio-economic, demographic and climate factors on the regional distribution of dengue in the United States and Mexico. International journal of health geographics, 19(1), pp.1-15. [3] World Health Organization, Ten threats to global health in 2019.. 2019. Retrieved in October 2023. [4] Phillips, M.L., 2008. Dengue reborn: widespread resurgence of a resilient vector.Environ Health Perspect. 2008 Sep; 116(9): A382–A388. [5] Ladner, J., Rodrigues, M., Davis, B., Besson, M.H., Audureau, E. and Saba, J., 2017. Societal impact of dengue outbreaks: Stakeholder perceptions and related implications. A qualitative study in Brazil, 2015. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 11(3), p.e0005366. [6] Wellekens, K., Betrains, A., De Munter, P. and Peetermans, W., 2022. Dengue: current state one year before WHO 2010–2020 goals. Acta Clinica Belgica, 77(2), pp.436-444.

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Dengue Digital Innovation Challenge Themes

Do you have idea or innovative solution that could improve Dengue prevention or vaccination in one of these challenge areas?

Supply

How to efficiently supply vaccines within a shelf-life of 18 months in a manner that appreciates differences between Latin American markets and strengthens public trust towards vaccinations. We call for ideas and innovations that address or leverage, for example: .

  • “Last kilometer” of supply chain;
  • Blockchain applications;
  • Traceability;
  • Combating counterfeit vaccines;
  • Cold-chain;
  • Collecting real-time data and information on various stages of supply chain;
Consumer Activation

For successful Dengue vaccination campaigns, targeting the right regions and population, disease awareness and digital solutions covering the vaccination journey are important. Can you support:

  • Vaccine consumer activation;
  • Dengue disease awareness and education;
  • Solutions to optimize right population with vaccinations (Consumer segmentation);
  • Vaccination adherence (2nd shot);
  • Solutions addressing vaccine hesitancy and/or build trust towards Dengue vaccinations;
  • Co-development and launch of an end-to-end service providing consumers with features to make their vaccination journey as convenient and efficient as possible like clinic location finder, appointment booking and confirmation/reminders, payment options and vaccination card;
Health Data

Dengue prevention strategies should be informed by credible and accurate evidence with Real World Evidence and Insights. Can you generate, access or process (model) health data, for example but not limited, to following themes:

  • Real World Evidence (REW) on efficiency and long-term safety of Dengue vaccination; 
  • Social Media and Social Listening as source for RWE. Safety Data, Adverse Event data, and Quality Information;
  • Blockchain, synthetic data, AI/ML/NLP solutions;
  • Health data for Dengue outbreak prediction, health economic and Quality of Life research / forecasting;
  • Generate new data to become partner of choice for Dengue Prevention;
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CHALLENGE SCHEDULE, ELIGIBILITY AND LANGUAGE
Applications open: November 8th, 2023
  • Submit your application online on our dedicated platform in English.
  • NOTE: This challenge is open for companies based in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia or Panama.

Applications close: December 17th, 2023
  • Submit your online application by [date] at midnight (GMT+1)

Finalists announced: January, 2024
  • Challenge finalists make their case to Takeda Latin American and global leadership

Challenge (virtual) finals: January/February 2024
  • Challenge finalists make their case to Takeda Latin American and global leadership

Partnering
  • Selected winners are invited to contract negotiations with Takeda’s Latin American and global business units

Proof-of-Concept Projects
  • Selected teams advance to develop Proof-of-Concept projects with Takeda funding and to explore further partnering opportunities

C-ANPROM/MX/DENV/0077

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