Unlocking Urologic Oncology Innovation QuickFire Challenge
Supports innovators designing bladder and prostate cancer therapies and surgical tools through a J&J urologic oncology challenge.
⚠This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.
Johnson & Johnson Innovation, in partnership with the American Urological Association (AUA), launched the Unlocking Urologic Oncology Innovation QuickFire Challenge in April 2025 to solicit technologies improving treatment and care for patients with bladder and prostate cancers. The total prize pool reached up to $300,000 distributed across multiple awardees. Each recipient receives cash from the pool, virtual access to the JLABS global incubator network, and mentorship from J&J experts. Johnson & Johnson retains no intellectual property as a condition of the award. Applications were accepted from innovators worldwide at all stages from ideation through commercial launch, provided a path to commercialization existed.
Two therapeutic and surgical domains were in scope. On the therapeutic side, the challenge sought treatment modalities that limit systemic or off-tumor toxicities, local delivery approaches, and organ-sparing treatment options for bladder and prostate cancer. On the surgical side, reviewers prioritized focal therapies involving local energy delivery and technologies improving endoscopic procedures, including trans-urethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT). J&J is a founding member of the AUA Clinical Trial Consortium and AUA Innovation Nexus Founders' Circle advisory board, lending the program institutional depth in urologic surgery and oncology.
The application deadline was October 3, 2025, and three awardees were announced in Q1 2026: Andromeda Surgical Inc., Nanobots Therapeutics S.L., and Tiller Therapeutics Inc. This challenge is now fully complete. The program follows J&J's recurring pattern of disease-area-themed QuickFire rounds co-launched with specialty medical societies, typically distributing $300,000 across three awardees. Organizations focused on urologic oncology innovation should monitor jnjinnovation.com/innovation-challenges for future oncology-focused cycles.
Funds innovations in bladder and prostate cancer therapeutics — including local delivery and organ-sparing approaches — and surgical technologies such as focal therapies and improved endoscopic procedures like TURBT.
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