NEW YORK, June 16, 2026 — The Catalytic Impact Foundation (CIF) today announced the winners of the CIF Innovation Prize, awarded at the Children’s Health Challenge Summit, a high-energy gathering that brought together investors, clinicians, founders, advocates, philanthropic leaders, and children’s health experts to help accelerate breakthrough solutions for children and families.
Held at Brown Rudnick LLP in Times Square, the Summit featured a live pitch competition, two expert panels, and a fireside chat with Dr. Chelsea Clinton, followed by a reception at Manatt designed to spark connection across the pediatric innovation ecosystem. The event was co-chaired by Melindah Sharma, Managing Director at Manatt Health, and Rachel Butler, President of the Catalytic Impact Foundation, whose leadership helped bring together a powerful cross-sector community committed to advancing children’s health innovation.
The room reflected the urgency and possibility at the center of CIF’s work: bringing catalytic capital, strategic networks, and cross-sector leadership to promising healthcare solutions… because children and their families can’t wait.
The competition showcased five finalist companies selected from a highly competitive applicant pool of over 220 companies:
- Regatta Bio
- Siloam Vision
- Tympanogen
- Unravel Biosciences
- AVaTAR MedTech
CIF awarded the $100,000 CIF Innovation Prize in Children’s Health, sponsored by Resonance Philanthropies, to Regatta Bio, a company advancing next-generation regulatory T cell therapies designed to address major challenges in immune health, including their first indication of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD), focused on children.
CIF’s Runner-up prize was awarded to Siloam Vision, a company developing accessible eye-care technologies to reduce preventable blindness, beginning with neo-natal care units to diagnose Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), the leading cause of childhood blindness globally.
In addition, the Charles H. Hood Foundation awarded two $100,000 equity investment prizes through the Hood Pediatric Acceleration Award to Siloam Vision and Tympanogen.
Tympanogen is modernizing ENT procedures through thoughtfully designed solutions, including its nonsurgical eardrum repair gel, that could potentially shift treatment from invasive surgery toward a quick and inexpensive clinic-based procedure. The pediatric population is most affected by perforated eardrums, with roughly 100,000 new patients per year in the US.
“We designed CIF to help early-stage innovators solve challenging problems in children’s health. Transformative solutions exist, but early-stage companies need capital, connections and guidance to advance. Using CIF’s Regenerative Philanthropy system, we invest strategically to accelerate disruptive, patient-oriented innovations to reach children and families faster,” said Richard Lipkin, Founder of the Catalytic Impact Foundation.
The day’s programming opened with a panel on Pediatric Rare Disease — The Challenges and Pathways Forward, moderated by Melindah Sharma, Managing Director at Manatt Health. Panelists included Amber Freed, CEO and Founder of SLC6A1 Connect; Hannah Aura Shoval, MD, MBA, Chief of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine; and Terry Jo Bichell, CEO and Founder of COMBINEDBrain.
Following the finalist pitches, attendees gained insights from a fireside chat on Children’s Health in the Digital Age featuring Dr. Chelsea Clinton, Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation and Clinton Health Access Initiative, in conversation with Andrew Racine, MD, PhD, President of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The discussion explored the evolving effects of digital technology, social media, online misinformation, artificial intelligence on the health of children, — and the need for thoughtful guidance and potential guardrails to protect and strengthen children’s well-being.
The event concluded with a second expert panel, Accelerating Pediatric Innovation — Real World Perspectives on Bringing Solutions to Children, moderated by John Parker, Trustee of the Hood Foundation and Managing Partner of Springhood Ventures. Panelists included Orin Herskowitz, President of the Mussallem CHD Alliance; Janna Patterson, MD, MPH, Chief Education and Global Health Officer at the American Academy of Pediatrics; and Vasum Peiris, MD, MPH, former Chief Medical Officer of Pediatrics and Special Populations at the FDA.
“This event was a powerful reminder that children’s health innovation is not waiting for better ideas — it is waiting for the right alignment of capital, a regulatory pathway that works for small patient populations, and stakeholders who understand that kids and their families urgently need this broken system to be repaired. CIF’s Children’s Health Challenge Finalists presented transformational solutions with the potential to change lives, and CIF is proud to help create an ecosystem where that work is showcased, supported and celebrated… because children and their families can’t wait,” said Rachel Butler, President of the Catalytic Impact Foundation.
For CIF, the Children’s Health Challenge reflects a broader commitment to advancing healthcare solutions through its regenerative philanthropy model. CIF deploys donated capital into early-stage life sciences and healthcare companies working on urgent and often overlooked medical needs. When investments succeed, returns flow back into the fund to seed future breakthroughs — creating a model designed to recycle philanthropic capital for lasting, scalable impact.
The event also honored CIF’s partners and sponsors, including Resonance Philanthropies; the Charles H. Hood Foundation; the American Academy of Pediatrics; Brown Rudnick LLP; Manatt Health; NewYorkBIO; and the New York Academy of Sciences.
Learn more about the CIF Innovation Prize & Children’s Health Challenge at:
https://www.cifimpact.org/cifchildrenshealthchallenge
About the Catalytic Impact Foundation
The Catalytic Impact Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to accelerating innovation in life sciences and healthcare to address unmet medical needs. CIF funds early-stage companies developing transformative healthcare solutions for diseases and conditions causing suffering for patients and families. Through its regenerative philanthropy model, CIF uses donated capital to make impact investments in promising companies, with returns recycled back into the fund to support future breakthroughs.
Media Contact
Krista Hager
Head of Strategic Communications
Catalytic Impact Foundation
khager@cifimpact.org
512-694-9168
Leadership Contacts
Rachel Butler
Board Director and President
Catalytic Impact Foundation
rbutler@cifimpact.org
Richard Lipkin
Board Director and Founder
Catalytic Impact Foundation
rlipkin@cifimpact.org
Robert I. Wolk
Board Chair
Catalytic Impact Foundation
rwolk@cifimpact.org
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