MedTech Innovator Asia Pacific Names Ardens Lifescience 2026 Grand Prize Winner

LOS ANGELES & SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 26, 2026--

MedTech Innovator (MTI), the world’s largest accelerator of medical device, digital health, and diagnostic companies, today announced Ardens Lifescience as the 2026 MedTech Innovator Asia Pacific Grand Prize Winner, awarding the company USD 175,000 cash prize for its transbronchial radiofrequency (RF) ablation system with a conforming electrode for peripheral lung cancer.

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The announcement was made at the MedTech Innovator Asia Pacific Showcase & Grand Finals in Singapore, where four finalists – Ardens Lifescience, BaiYi Healthcare Technology, Eyes of AI, and Physiologas Technology – competed before an audience of industry leaders, investors, healthcare stakeholders and innovators. Following the finalist presentations and a live Q&A with a panel of medtech executives, the audience selected Ardens Lifescience as the 2026 Grand Prize Winner. The three runners-up each received USD 10,000.

“We are incredibly honored to be named the 2026 MedTech Innovator Asia Pacific Grand Prize Winner,” said Alex Park, CEO of Ardens Lifescience. “This recognition is a significant milestone for our team. I believe we were able to become the winner because all of you resonated with and supported our mission to offer more effective, yet less invasive, treatments for patients suffering from lung cancer. With an even greater sense of responsibility, Ardens’ teams will do our best to bring CAROL to the world quickly to provide hope to many lung cancer patients.”

“Ardens Lifescience is advancing an important innovation in the treatment of peripheral lung cancer,” said Paul Grand, founder and CEO of MedTech Innovator. “Its conforming radiofrequency ablation technology has the potential to overcome key limitations of existing treatment approaches, enabling more precise tumor targeting while preserving healthy lung tissue. As earlier detection creates new opportunities to intervene, innovations like CAROL could play an important role in expanding less invasive treatment options for patients. We congratulate Ardens on this well-deserved recognition as our 2026 Asia Pacific Grand Prize Winner.”

The 2026 Grand Finals marked the culmination of MedTech Innovator Asia Pacific’s four-month accelerator program, which brought together 20 promising medical technology companies selected from more than 680 applications across the region and beyond. Representing a diverse range of healthcare technologies, the cohort featured innovations spanning medical devices, diagnostics, digital health, artificial intelligence, surgical technologies, and other emerging areas of healthcare.

The Grand Finals judging panel included Aditya Vaidya, General Manager, Asia Pacific - Heart Recovery, Johnson & Johnson, Santosh Nair, Head of Data & AI Portfolio, Siemens Healthineers, and Esther Kong, Manager, Innovation Research, B.Braun Medical Industries.

In addition to the Grand Prize and runner-up awards, several honors were presented to recognize outstanding achievements among the 2026 cohort:
EnterpriseSG STARTUP SG Grant (SGD 50,000):BaiYi Healthcare Technology, China
Blue Goat Cyber Cybersecurity Award (USD 25,000):mediVR Inc., Japan
Dovetail Regulatory Award (USD 25,000):Lumino Medison, South Korea
Best Video Competition Award (USD 5,000):Ardens Lifescience, South Korea

Throughout the four-month accelerator, participating companies received tailored mentorship, strategic guidance, and opportunities to engage with leading medtech corporations, investors, healthcare stakeholders, and industry experts. Through MedTech Innovator’s global network, the program connected companies with the expertise, partnerships, and resources needed to support clinical development, commercialization, and international growth.

Now in its eighth year, MedTech Innovator Asia Pacific has established a strong regional platform for identifying and advancing promising medical technology companies, fostering collaboration across the healthcare ecosystem, and connecting innovators with strategic partners and market opportunities across Asia Pacific and beyond.

MedTech Innovator Asia Pacific’s 2026 program partners include Johnson & Johnson, B.Braun Medical Industries, Siemens Healthineers, Blue Goat Cyber, Dovetail, Cambridge Consultants, The Mullings Group, and Enterprise Singapore joining as a 2026 partner to support regional expansion and innovation initiatives.

About MedTech Innovator

MedTech Innovator is the world’s largest accelerator of medical device, digital health, and diagnostic companies. Its mission is to improve human health by accelerating the growth of companies transforming patient care. MTI has been a catalyst for groundbreaking healthcare solutions, sourcing more than 20,000 applicants and fostering the growth of 933 graduates. Alumni have collectively raised $12 billion in follow-on funding, seen 66 acquisitions, and introduced 600+ products to the market, improving the health of millions worldwide. For more information about MedTech Innovator Asia Pacific, its annual programs, portfolio of industry-leading startups, and insights on trends, visit MTI’s website, follow MTI on LinkedIn, and subscribe to its monthly newsletter.

Ardens Lifescience wins 2026 MTI Asia Pacific Grand Prize

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 64-55 to take a 3-2 lead in the WNBA Finals.

THIS IS AN APNewsAlert. Check back for updates. AP's earlier story is below.

Natalie Nakase saw it in her team's much-improved body language — shoulders back and head ups. Golden State's huddle got tighter as the close-knit Valkyries came together.

The second-year coach believes much of that had to do with her own better messaging and delivery for a Game 4 win at Atlanta that evened the best-of-seven WNBA Finals at 2-2 going back to the Bay Area.

Point guard Veronica Burton believes everyone could see it, because it's tough not to notice player's head down or visible disappointment with a missed shot — and that all of that can be just as contagious as a positive swing in a game.

“You guys probably can even see it on court. You pick up on it. You see when your teammate's head is down, you see when maybe someone's not as engaged after missing a shot," Burton said before Game 5. “It's little things like that that can trickle down to someone else and seep into each other. So it's all of us, it's not just one person. When things don't go our way, how do we respond and how do we react? All of that matters.”

Golden State hopes to continue that positive momentum as it takes on Angel Reese and Atlanta again in Game 5 with support from the hostile, noisy “Ballhalla” crowd at Chase Center.

Dream coach Karl Smesko realizes how hard it is for Reese to dominate every game against the Valkyries and their stingy defense. She did it here in winning Game 2 to salvage a split on Golden State's home floor.

Reese had 30 points and 16 rebounds in last Monday's 79-65 victory that evened the series.

“I think you’ll see an energized Angel. I think she’ll play great today,” Smesko said. “In the games that we won she had historically great performances. That’s not easy to do every game against a tremendous defense like Golden State.”

The Valkyries changed up their lineup for Game 4 with Nakase inserting Tiffany Hayes and Kaila Charles into the starting five — and she stayed with those two Monday night.

And if you ask any of them, who starts the game isn't an issue. Nakase is challenging herself to make sure everyone is ready to contribute.

"It's on me to get them to play with a sense of fight that they play connected and I thought they did a great job in Game 4," Nakase said, before adding: “Our team is our strength. We've said strength in numbers. Anyone can close, anyone can start, anyone can come off the bench, anyone can finish the game. It's just so valuable that we can change our rotations, we can change our lineups, that's what's kind of dangerous about our team. It's hard to scout when you have so many options, and so that's what I love.”

Earlier Monday, the league announced Game 6 would be played at 17,000-seat State Farm Arena in Atlanta starting at 12:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday.

“I’d like to see it be a national holiday for all WNBA championship games so whatever somebody can do," Smesko said. "I hope everybody gets to see it somehow and I know that for some people it’s not realistic, they have jobs and won’t be able to make it. So I’m disappointed for that but I’m really hopeful that as many people can see the game as possible.”

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams (1) hugs Golden State Valkyries guard Kaila Charles (6) after Game 4 of the WNBA basketball finals on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard (10) attempts to shoot against Golden State Valkyries center Kiah Stokes (41) in the second half during Game 4 of the WNBA basketball finals on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams (1) high fives fans after Game 4 of the WNBA basketball finals against the Atlanta Dream on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Streamers fall from the rafters following the Golden State Valkyries victory over the Atlanta Dream in Game 4 of the WNBA basketball finals against the Atlanta Dream, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Atlanta. (Dan Hernandez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)