Devices & Diagnostics, Health IT, Hospitals, Startups

Texas Medical Center launches healthcare accelerator

Houston is hoping to get in on the wave of digital health and life science […]

Houston is hoping to get in on the wave of digital health and life science innovation, led by Texas Medical Center‘s newly launched accelerator, dubbed TMCx.

The accelerator, in a 100,000 square-foot former Nabisco factory, will be one of the “core components” of the Medical Center’s Innovation Institute, as well as the first step in establishing the center and the region as a hub for healthcare innovation, officials said in a release.

“As part of a strategic planning process, leadership from across the TMC identified innovation and commercialization as the top priority across the medical center,” said Dr. Robert  Robbins, president and CEO of Texas Medical Center.”With over $3.7 billion in research grant funding in the last five years, translating research to commercialization is the single greatest opportunity for the Texas Medical Center.”

TMCx hopes to launch scores of life sciences and digital health startups, thereby putting it on par with accelerators on the east and west coasts.  It is now welcoming applicants to apply online for immediate consideration, with  the first accelerator class slated to begin in January.

In the near term, the Medical Center  — the largest medical center in the country — also hopes to launch a multi-million dollar fund, likely in the range between $10 and $50 million from a variety of institutions and government entities, the Houston Business Journal reported. The accelerator is hosting the Kauffman Foundation and 35 digital health startups from Houston, San Diego and Boston in an attempt to lure them to Houston.

TMCx companies, officials said, will have access to the a large collection of top physicians, scientists and business expertise on one campus, which serves over 7.2 million patients annually. In addition, TMCx companies will participate in an accelerator without the financial burden or requirement to accept dilutive funding, officials said.

“The Texas Medical Center accelerator will focus on the critical components, a thoughtfully vetted business model, securing intellectual property, advancing technologies through validation and building management teams,” Chief Operating Officer William McKeon said.

TMCx said it will provide life science and digital health entrepreneurs “essential resources for growth” including office and meeting space, training curriculum, a core group of business and legal experts and a network of advisers and potential investors.

The opening of TMCx marks the first of many programs and offerings from the Innovation Institute, the medical center said. In addition to TMCx, the Innovation Institute will house a full spectrum of offerings including curriculum for entrepreneurship, a network of advisors and mentors, and access to strategic and venture investors.

“Many of the components incorporated in the Innovation Institute exist as stand-alone entities in other locations around the country and the world, but in its totality, the Institute will be more extensive than anything that currently exists in life sciences,” said Robbins.

TMCx is now welcoming applicants to apply online for immediate consideration. The first accelerator class is slated to begin in January.

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