San Diego Biotech Company Dermala Advances to InnovateHER Semi-Finals
Nationwide competition honors companies that impact and empower women’s lives
SAN DIEGO (December 8, 2015) – Today, CONNECT, a premier innovation company accelerator in San Diego that creates and scales great companies in the technology and life sciences sectors, announced Dermala Inc., an early stage biotech company based in San Diego, as the winner of the recent InnovateHER challenge hosted by CONNECT and Hera Labs. The national InnovateHER competition, put on by the U.S. Small Business Administration and Microsoft in an effort to unearth innovative products and services that help impact and empower the lives of women and families, will be held in Washington, D.C. on March 17, 2017 as part of the annual Women’s Summit, where the winning company will take home $40,000.
“It is an honor to be among the semi-finalists in the InnovateHER competition, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to showcase Dermala alongside other companies that are making a difference in the lives of women all over the world,” said Dr. Lada Rasochova, CEO and President of Dermala. “Being a female in male-dominated industry is one thing, but to be leading the charge in positively impacting other women’s lives is truly inspiring.”
Dermala was selected based on its measurable impact on the lives of women and families, potential for commercialization and its ability to fill a need in the marketplace. Judges of the local challenge were local business leaders Silvia Mah, CEO of Hera-Labs; Kim Davis King, Adjunct Professor at San Diego State, former venture capitalist and current angel investor; and Sergio Gurrier, Board Director, Tech Coast Angels.
Founded in 2014 by Dr. Rasochova and Eric Huang, Professor at the Department of Dermatology at UCSD, Dermala is an early stage biotechnology company that uses the human microbiome to develop treatments for chronic skin diseases. Rasochova has been involved in commercialization of pharmaceutical and biotechnology products for the past 20 years. She spent more than 15 years in private sector where she held various leadership and management positions, most recently as the R&D Leader and Director of New Business Development in Dowpharma division of the Dow Chemical Company.
For more information on InnovateHER, please visit https://www.sba.gov/offices/headquarters/wbo/resources/1465581.
ABOUT CONNECT
CONNECT is a premier innovation company accelerator in San Diego that creates and scales great companies in the technology and life sciences sectors. By creating an environment in which entrepreneurs and C-suite executives have access to the people, capital, and technology resources they need for success, CONNECT has assisted in the formation and development of more than 3,000 companies since 1985. Widely regarded as one of the world’s most successful organizations linking entrepreneurs and C-suite executives with the resources they need for the commercialization of innovative products and services; our program has been modeled in more than 50 regions around the world.
