Health IT, Startups

Israeli $50M digital health fund launches, partners with Johns Hopkins to validate startup tech

An Israeli crowdfunding platform is launching a new digital health fund with the goal to raise $50 million to support about 15 companies that are predominantly based in that Middle Eastern nation.

Golden coins flying out of a slit in a tablet

OurCrowd, a crowdfunding platform based in Jerusalem, announced this week that it is launching Israel’s first digital health-focused fund.

The fund, called OurFund Qure, has a goal to raise $50 million and fund about 15 companies, said Allen Kamer, one of the managing partners of the fund, in an email forwarded by a representative.

The other managing partner is Dr. Yossi Bahagon, a practicing physician. He founded and was CEO of Luminox Health, an Israeli healthcare startup specializing in digital medicine that OurCrowd acquired by OurCrowd in June.

In a sign that digital health tools cannot be developed in a vacuum and need physician input and testing in a clinical environment, OurCrowd Qure is partnering with Johns Hopkins.

“We are excited about the opportunity to collaborate with OurCrowd to bring new companies and novel ideas to market,” said Christy Wyskiel, senior advisor to the President and head of Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, in the news release. “We feel these companies will enrich the innovation ecosystem in and around Johns Hopkins.”

Kamer said that OurCrowd Qure will invest in companies that are predominantly based in the Middle Eastern nation, but that doesn’t mean that all 15 companies or however many are funded in the end, will necessarily be based in Israel.

He added that one of the core target areas for the fund is to develop products and services aimed at the consumer though the business model could business-to-business if the company is not directly selling to consumers.

In the news release, Bahagon, the other managing partner, stressed OurCrowd Qure’s intention to help support solutions that positively affect the individual patient.

“The fund will focus on solutions that have a massive social and personal impact, while also offering highly attractive return potential over an appealing timeline,” he said.

Photo: pictafolio, Getty Images

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