Organizations, irrespective of the scale and size are always on the lookout for smart people who have the urge to do ‘something different’ & ‘solve large-scale problems’. One way to achieve the same is via Hackathons where participants can collaborate & co-create to solve ‘real-life problems’ by deriving ‘usecases’ that would have a bigger impact. A couple of weeks back, we mentioned about the Mylan Hackathon where the pharmaceutical giant invited students, and professionals to collaborate with the in-house team of experts at Mylan to come up with solutions using technologies like Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, etc. The central theme of the Hackathon was #hackforacause in order to build products that promise ‘Better Health for a Better World’. The two-day hackathon on 13th & 14th October was organized at their Bengaluru office.

Though this was a first of its kind Hackathon by any pharmaceutical company, it received a very good response and the participants came up with very good solutions to the 5 challenges that were posted to them

1. Simplify Adverse Event reporting for a patient.
2. Speed up preliminary diagnosis & early cancer detection.
3. Leverage technology to capture patient treatment outcomes.
4. Ensure adherence of treatment by a Tuberculosis [TB] patient.
5. Track Antiretrovirals [ARV] product until it reaches the consumer.

Summary of the overall proceedings of the Mylan 2018 #hackforacause Hackathon

• More than 550 individuals had registered for the event, from which 62 teams comprising of 252 members were shortlisted for the final challenge that was held on 13th and 14th October 2018.
• The second and the final day had 45 teams finalizing their solutions and presenting them to the panel of judges. Teams were judged on unique parameters like uniqueness, radical thinking, market effectiveness, etc.
• Only 10 teams were shortlisted for the final round after the first round of judging, and the 10 finalists had to present their idea to the judges.
• The innovations and solutions focused on various aspects of technology to solve the five challenges – Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Imaging Science, etc.

Commenting on the initiative, Mylan spokesperson Mr. Rakesh Bamzai, President – India and Emerging Markets said

We are proud to be one of the few pharmaceutical companies in the world to host a hackathon for digital innovation. Initiatives such as these foster engagement and collaboration between students, professionals, and institutions, to develop innovative and cost-effective solutions for real-world health problems and enhance access to affordable medicines. At Mylan, the Hackathon initiative focuses not only on the current challenges in Healthcare but also on developing solutions for the future.

Winners of the Mylan 2018 #hackforacause Hackathon

• In the Professional hackers’ category, team Smart from Atos won the prize money of Rs. 100,000 for their novel solution to adherence of treatment of Tuberculosis patients.
• In the Students Category, the team from Sri Sairam Institute of Technology won the prize money of Rs. 100,000 for its solution for traceability of Mylan’s Antiretroviral [ARV] drugs to the end consumer.
• In the Employees’ category, team Shamiroh won the prize money of Rs. 100,000 for its solution to speed up the preliminary diagnosis and early detection of cancer.

One of the members of the winning team Mr. Ganesh Mahadevan said

This event was an exceptional learning platform for me. It allowed me to interact and collaborate with brilliant like-minded innovators to develop solutions that could have a positive impact on patients and the industry. I believe that anyone who wants to find viable solutions for health problems should participate in the Mylan Hackathon.

From the year 2016, Mylan has been organizing Hackathons in India and globally. Since the inception of Mylan Hackathon, the company has been fueling the push for new creative and innovative solutions in the healthcare segment for patients, payers, providers and other healthcare professionals. This year’s hackathon received a very overwhelming response and the participants came up with innovative solutions that have social, as well as business impact.

#HackForaCause coverage on Social Media

The event was covered extensively on major social media platforms namely Facebook and Twitter under #2018MylanHackathon & #hackforacause. With live event updates, netizens & technology enthusiasts could get first-hand information about the Hackathon.

References – Mylan 2018 Hackathon, Official Press Release

Machine Learning [ML], Artificial Learning [AL], Cognitive Computing, Deep Learning, Data Analytics, and other emerging technologies are revolutionizing the way businesses operate. These technologies are being used by organizations, across the world not only to solve business-critical problems but to make intelligent & informed decisions. It is ‘sector-agnostic’ and can be applied to any kind of data [structured or unstructured] to arrive at the results. ML and Big Data are being used in manufacturing, e-commerce, banking, traditional retail, etc., but ‘Healthcare’ is one sector where it is being used extensively for not only improving the organization’s products & services but also to improve the quality of diagnosis, predict future events in the patients, etc.

Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence in HealthCare

As per a report by ‘Frost and Sullivan’, as far as the healthcare industry is concerned, a huge market expansion is expected in the next couple of years since it has the potential to reduce the costs by half and technologies and platform solutions that promote innovation around care quality, outcomes, and chronic disease management will continue to rise [Source]. Healthcare, as well as traditional pharmaceutical companies, are now able to leverage the power of ‘Patient Data’ to achieve better, as well as quicker outcomes across different levels of the healthcare value chain.

Technology major Microsoft partnered with Apollo Hospitals introduced AI-powered Cardiovascular Disease risk score to predict the risk of Cardiovascular Disease in the Indian Population and many new-age startups are also trying to solve many lingering problems related to healthcare. In a nutshell, ‘healthcare’ is apt for application of ML, Deep Learning, etc. since, these algorithms can be used in understanding & recognizing patterns, which is the most critical factors as far as ‘Patient Diagnosis’ is concerned.

Mylan Hackathon – Opportunity to Collaborate, Innovate and Create

For global pharmaceutical companies, embracing these technologies requires technical, as well as cultural mind shift. ‘Hackathon’ is one mechanism which can be used in order to engage people that are passionate to collaborate, innovate, and co-create in order to provide answers for next-generation healthcare. Mylan, a global pharmaceutical company has an ambitious mission – To provide the world’s 7 billion people access to high-quality medicine and set new standards in healthcare and uses a platform like ‘Hackathon’ to come up innovative solutions. It is one of the few pharmaceutical companies to host Hackathons. For a company like Mylan, Hackathons are more about collaborating with the innovative & creative people [students, professionals, etc.] in order to arrive at solutions that are core to what Mylan does in the future.

Mylan Hackathon is an ideal platform for students, as well as professionals to connect & collaborate with people at Mylan to come up with innovative solutions that address real-world challenges. With events like Hackathons, Mylan wants to come up with new generations of solutions using ML, AI, etc. that are capable of delivering ‘Better Health for a Better World‘. The Hackathon is scheduled on 13^th & 14^th October in their Bengaluru office.

Mylan Hackathon – Challenges/Tracks for participants

Interested participants have to come up with solutions using can help Mylan unlock these challenges and #hackforacause

1. Simplify Adverse Event reporting for a patient.
2. Speed up preliminary diagnosis & early cancer detection.
3. Leverage technology to capture patient treatment outcomes.
4. Ensure adherence of treatment by a Tuberculosis [TB] patient.
5. Track Antiretrovirals [ARV] product until it reaches the consumer.

Interested participants can register online here; the last date for registrations is 7^th October, 2018. Creation is always about Teams and the case is no different for Mylan Hackathon. Mylan recommends that you at least have 4 people in the team so that you have the necessary ‘diversification’ in terms of skills and competency. Below are the important deadlines to remember

• Register for a challenge [registration open till 1900hrs [07:00 PM IST] 7^th October, 2018].
• Design and build [during the event] the project.
• Document and present a 5-min lightning talk [on the final day of the Hackathon].

Yes, you read it right :). Once your hack is ready, you need to pitch the core USP of the idea to the panel who would be judging the Hackathon. If you are a coder with no customer facing experience, this is your chance to gain that skill by demoing your product using an ‘Elevator Pitch’! The detailed agenda is below

So, apart from hacking for 2 days, networking with other people; you also stand a chance to win prizes. The Winning team would win Rs. 1 Lakh and the Runner’s up team would win Rs. 50,000. There are some interesting giveaways and spot quizzes to keep the participants during the coding sessions. However, it is not always about the prizes; if your hack has path-breaking potential, there is a possibility that it would make way into one of Mylan’s products 🙂

You can find more details about the tools requirements, tips, etc. here. You can also follow social media updates of Mylan Hackathon 2018 here & here. So, what are you waiting for? Mylan Hackathon is an ideal platform where you can showcase your technical and business skills to #hackforacause