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GE Healthcare has taken the wraps off a healthcare accelerator, five.eight, that will invest $50 million in startups dedicated to improving healthcare in emerging markets. The goal is to improve healthcare outcomes for developing economies through education, services and low-cost digital technologies, a news release read.
The initiative seeks to help entrepreneurs scale their products for emerging economies by capitalizing on the distribution muscle of the global company or by integrating their services into GE Healthcare’s Affordable Care portfolio.
Behavioral Health, Interoperability and eConsent: Meeting the Demands of CMS Final Rule Compliance
In a webinar on April 16 at 1pm ET, Aneesh Chopra will moderate a discussion with executives from DocuSign, Velatura, and behavioral health providers on eConsent, health information exchange and compliance with the CMS Final Rule on interoperability.
“Through five.eight, our goal is to fuel the greater global health ecosystem, partnering with social impact investors and global health startups, in order to maximize impact and outcomes for populations with the greatest need,” GE Healthcare CEO John Flannery said in the news release.
GE Healthcare will earmark up to $5 million for each business selected for the program. The funding will go to later stage companies with a clinically proven solution and clinical validation, according to an emailed statement from GE Healthcare. Applicants will be evaluated based on whether their products can meet market needs and the potential to scale those products globally.
The inaugural cohort will include applicants from portfolio companies of four five.eight partners: Acumen, Aavishkaar-Intellecap Group, Unitus Seed Fund and Villgro. Tricog, a Bangalore business, is the accelerator’s first investment. Tricog developed a triage platform in a partnership with medical centers for people with chest pain to reduce the number of fatal heart attacks.
Five.eight joins GE’s innovation network which includes other accelerators and startups and “six digital foundries”. Successful applicants also gain access to GE innovation centers in Helsinki, Cardiff, Istanbul, Calgary, Johannesburg, and Dubai.
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.
GE’s move is part of a wider trend for companies to create healthcare accelerators geared to their technology priorities or mission. GE’s venture arm is a partner with StartUp Health Academy. GE is also a partner in an expansion of StartUp Health Academy’s model through StartUp Health Finland. Other companies that have launched or supported initiatives to invest in healthcare startups geared to emerging markets are Merck, Johnson & Johnson, Philips and OSF Ventures.
Photo: Hong Li, Getty Images
