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Last but not certainly not least, we're excited to announce TissueFormÌýas our fifthÌýNVC 11 Championships finalist!Ìý

Competing against fiveÌýteams in the NVC 11 Research & Development (R&D)ÌýTrack Finals competition (hosted byÌýVenture Partners at ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ Boulder),ÌýTissueForm took home theÌýfirst place prize and $6,000 after pitching their business idea to a panel of judges and a live audience.

TissueForm seeks to help patients suffering from tissue disease, damage or aging through its simple, low-cost, and long-lasting dermal filler technology. Their technology, called the ClayMatrixâ„¢, originated from research that fourth-year PhD student Jeanne Barthold performedÌýinÌýtheÌýMechanical Engineering Department's NeuÌýSoft Tissue Bioengineering Lab.Ìý

"ClayMatrixâ„¢, is a dermal filler material whose proprietaryÌýcomposition can last much longer than current hyaluronic acid-based fillers on the market, likeÌýJuvederm and restylane," Barthold, co-founder and director of research and development for TissueForm said. "This dramatically decreases the number of repeat injections a patient must receive to maintain their desired appearance, and therefore improve self-confidence."

The other R&D Track Finalists of the night included:​

• 2nd place: Button HuggieÌý($4,000)Ìý–Ìýa precision engineered medical device designed to simplify care for a child’s gastrostomy button and reduce gastrostomy related complications
• AJAXÌý–Ìýmobile technology for GPS that enables operators to receive information at the edge without the use of airborne assets and bulky equipment, ensuring the reliability of GPS data for our military and beyond
• Aspero Medical –Ìýpatent pending, micro-textured balloons that improve gastrointestinal (GI) balloon endoscopy and reduce procedure time, improve patient outcomes, and increase revenue for physicians
• Flatirons Geomagnetic Services –Ìýtechnology based on magnetic field navigation that provides underground positioning information to drilling companies in real-time
• GeneInfoSecÌý –Ìýmolecular encryption technology to conceal sensitive genetic information, reduce identifiability of data and increase privacy and security

TissueForm was also the winner of the NVC 11 Women's Entrepreneurship Prize, which is awarded to an NVC 11 team with at least one female founder. Teams vie for the prize by competingÌýin an additional pitch competition outside of the NVC Track Semi-Finals, Finals and Championships.

"The Women’s Entrepreneurship Prize competition itself meant a lot to me. It was the first time I have ever been at a startup event where a majority was female," Barthold said.Ìý"I wasÌýgrateful to win the competition becauseÌýall of the women brought their pitching A-game and the technologies pitchedÌýrepresented a range of very important topics."

TissueForm will be one of five teams competing in the NVC 11 Championships on Wednesday, April 3 at the Boulder Theater.

Barthold said that the opportunity to win the $200,000 prize is an "invaluable opportunity" for the company, but this hasn't been the company's only win. TissueForm most recently won a $125,000 grant after competing in the Lab Venture Challenge, hosted by Venture Partners at ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ Boulder in November 2018.