Giffin Daughtridge MPP 2017 works at the intersection of medicine and policy—with big results.
By Rebecca Wickel
May 11, 2016
—
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV. But if the drug Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is more than 90% effective in preventing HIV, why are tens of thousands diagnosed each year?
Patients have to take the pill every single day, without fail.
UrSure, Inc. has a solution. Business, clinical, and technical expertise come together to drive adherence to PrEP through cheap, painless urine tests. The business, co-founded by Giffin Daughtridge MPP 2017, was the first place Social Enterprise winner of Harvard Business School’s New Venture Competition.
With UrSure, doctors can tell whether their patients have been taking their medication regularly, and that accountability therefore boosts adherence. In an HIV prevention program in Philadelphia, UrSure increased PrEP adherence to twice the national average, Daughtridge said.
Daughtridge and partner Helen Koenig were selected from a pool of 62 teams to earn the $50,000 grand prize.