GE is getting into the accelerator business in a big way by partnering with StartUp Health in a three-year entrepreneur program. Applications from early stage consumer health companies are being accepted here.
The 10 companies that are selected will get their own GE mentor that matches their business model and service offering, according to Stoakes.
“This partner, along with StartUp Health, will help them connect in and partner with many different experts and resources within GE which could include technology experts, financial experts, healthcare experts, product experts.”
StartUp Health will run the program on a day-to-day basis. StartUp Health, co-founded by Steven Krein and Stoakes, runs the StartUp Health Academy which includes more than 20 early stage companies but aspires to work with 1,000 healthcare transformers. The program is location agnostic, according to StartUp Health Co-Founder Unity Stoakes in an e-mailed response to questions. Like its StartUp Health Academy, the companies will meet on a quarterly basis.
The goal is to leverage the considerable resources of the entire GE infrastructure and scale transformative consumer health innovations. That could include working with GE healthymagination, GE Healthcare, GE Capital, and many different business units depending on the businesses selected and their specific needs, according to Stoakes. “This is really meant to be a tailored and customized approach to helping startups grow.”
GE and StartUp Health will develop partnership and customer development opportunities along with pilot programs to see how the companies’ technology and business models hold up in action. They will also get access to GE executives and technology experts to help them learn to scale their business operations.
Applications for the program, which is also open to companies that have applied for the StartUp Health Academy, have to meet five criteria:
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
- Better quality and more affordable healthcare for consumers
- Unique technology and or services that transforms health
- Potential to be a stand alone business
- Large market and scalable business model
- Monetization strategy
The program is part of GE’s $6 billion healthymagination initiative to improve quality, affordability and access to healthcare. Its healthymagination fund invests in companies across life sciences, healthcare IT and diagnostics ranging from imaging, home health and patient monitoring. It avoids pharmaceuticals and implants.
“Working with StartUp Health, our goal is to make connections, provide the expertise and enable collaborations to help these consumer health companies grow,” said Rafael Torres, healthcare investments leader for GE Ventures, in a company statement.
In an interview with MedCity News earlier this year, Noah Lewis, the managing director for GE Healthymagination Fund, talked about the considerable resources GE has for companies that have received investment from healthymagination. GE Healthcare has a global supply chain, global research center where there are 3,000 Ph.Ds., and has a 10,000 strong engineering staff that help with product development.
Among the companies the Healthymagination fund has invested in are NanoString Technologies, which has a breast cancer assay; Veran Medical Technologies, which has an in-organ guidance system; and Check-Cap which has a colon cancer screening technology.
