A health IT accelerator near New Jersey’s pharmaceutical community has started a national search for applicants. The group wants to shake up the “much maligned and notoriously lengthy development process,” of the pharmaceutical industry.
Tigerlabs Health said by putting startups in closer proximity to the pharmaceutical industry, it hopes to increase the likelihood of success, according to press statement.
In a phone interview with MedCity News, Tigerlabs Health co-founder Bert Navarrete said it is looking for entrepreneurs with domain experience within healthcare that have good technical talent at the founder level. “This is an area that has been underserved by accelerators.”
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Tigerlabs Health in Princeton, New Jersey will pick at least 10 early stage companies developing products or services in one of 12 areas:
- Software as a service
- Mobile health
- Disease management
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- Integrated care management
- Adherence programs
- Big data
- Clinical discovery platform
- Self-diagnosis
- Remote monitoring
- Remote therapy
- Patient/payer disruption
- Virtual care
The three-month program begins February 2013. It will give participants $20,000 in seed funding in exchange for a 6 percent to 10 percent equity stake in their businesses, Navarrete said.
“You are seeing a great shift of software and Internet entrepreneurs dive into the healthcare vertical,” said Navarrete. Although he acknowledged that there are several healthcare accelerators around the country, like RockHealth and Blueprint Health, for example, he said none of them are focusing on the pharmaceutical industry in the way Tigerlabs Health will.
A mentor program will include weekly presentations from industry insiders including pharmaceutical companies. Each startup will be matched with a mentor who can offer specialized knowledge, Navarrete said.
The application deadline is Nov. 15.
Earlier this year, Tigerlabs set up a co-working space for startups referred to as Tigerlabs Commons used by 11 companies. It also ran an inaugural program for college and university student startups referred to as Tigerlabs University.
[Image from from flickr user Keith Roper]
