KEY TAKEAWAYS: New Orleans-based Cleaved Diagnostics won first place and the crowd favorite award at the 2026 BioChallenge competition. The international competition attracted 240 applicants from 35 countries and 31 U.S. states, with six finalists competing for $100,000 in cash prizes. Founded in 2024 using Tulane University research, Cleaved Diagnostics is developing a rapid test for a virus linked to childhood hearing loss. Boston-based PathMaker Neurosystems placed second, while Oklahoma City’s Moleculera Biosciences finished third.   A New Orleans biotechnology startup developing a rapid diagnostic test for a virus linked to childhood hearing loss took top honors at the 2026 BioChallenge, an international brain health pitch competition that attracted 240 applicants from 35 countries and 31 U.S. states. Cleaved Diagnostics won first place and the crowd favorite award at the Oct. 29 competition hosted by the New Orleans BioInnovation Center (NOBIC). The company was among six finalists competing for a combined $100,000 in cash prizes. Founded in New Orleans in 2024 using research developed at Tulane University, Cleaved Diagnostics is adapting CRISPR gene-editing technology to create faster, more sensitive and affordable diagnostic tests. Its first product, CLEVR, is designed to detect cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common virus that is the leading non-genetic cause of hearing loss in children and can cause developmental disabilities. The technology aims to improve early detection and make diagnostic testing more accessible. “Winning BioChallenge is an exciting milestone for our team and validates the work we’re doing to make critical diagnostic testing more accessible,” said Chandler Monk, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Cleaved Diagnostics. “We founded Cleaved in New Orleans because we believe meaningful healthcare innovation can happen here.” Boston-based PathMaker Neurosystems finished second for its development of MyoRegulator, an investigational device being studied as a potential treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The noninvasive technology uses electrical stimulation delivered through electrodes placed on the skin to address motor neuron hyperexcitability and toxic protein aggregation, two factors associated with ALS. The device received breakthrough device designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December 2025. Moleculera Biosciences, based in Oklahoma City, placed third. The company specializes in precision neuroimmunology and develops diagnostic tools to identify immune-related causes of treatment-resistant neuropsychiatric conditions. Its Autoimmune Brain Panel measures anti-neuronal autoantibodies and their effects on neuronal signaling to help clinicians identify potential immune system dysfunction. The other finalists were Cenna Biosciences of California, Nervosave Therapeutics of France and Parley Neurotech of Colorado. The competition concluded a two-day brain health innovation program that began Oct. 28 with the Brain Health Summit at Ochsner Health’s Debra H. and Robert J. Patrick Neuroscience Institute. The summit brought together clinicians, researchers, investors and biotechnology executives to discuss opportunities to translate brain health research into clinical applications. NOBIC officials said the events are part of a broader effort to establish New Orleans as a center for brain health research, biotechnology entrepreneurship and investment. “BioChallenge is building a global network of scientists, clinicians, founders and investors who have made their own mark on brain health and now put their time and money behind the next generation of companies in the field,” said Kris Khalil, executive director of NOBIC. “This year we drew 240 applicants from 35 countries, and the six companies that pitched were as strong a field as we have ever had.” According to NOBIC, previous BioChallenge winners and finalists have secured millions of dollars in private investment and federal research grants. The 2026 competition was presented by Sid O’Bryant, Ph.D., and the Institute for Translational Research at UNT Health Fort Worth. The annual competition is intended to connect emerging biotechnology companies with investors, clinical partners and research institutions to help advance new medical technologies toward commercialization. ...read more read less