So Cedars-Sinai has launched a search for candidates for a health tech accelerator run by Techstars, which is scheduled to begin in March. The nonprofit organization and hospital has had a keen interest in innovative health tech. Last year, it launched a venture fund with MemorialCare Health System called Summation Health Ventures — it currently has seven portfolio companies, according to its website.
In a phone interview, Cedars-Sinai CIO Darren Dworkin talked about the motivation behind the accelerator and what it hopes to get out of it.
Dworkin is reluctant to use specifics when asked what kinds of technology Cedars-Sinai it hopes accelerator candidates will bring. He is more interested in talking about how the institution can work with these companies between its resources and the pool of potential mentors who can help shape companies’ ideas.
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“We don’t want to limit ourselves to something like patient engagement. We want to leave our minds really open at this stage…We are wide open to companies from anywhere.”
He did say that the applicants will be whittled down to companies that address real world problems in the provider space and that the winning submissions would probably be a mix of early and late stage companies.
Dworkin said the institution has set up a dedicated facility adjacent to the Cedars-Sinai campus for the accelerator explaining, “You want to have a certain amount of separation from the hospital, but it needs to be practical.”
The winning 10 companies will be matched up with networks of mentors who will bring real, practical knowledge. Dworkin added that the kind of insight mentors from a hospital can provide, combined with Techstars’ track record, would be invaluable to a startup’s development.
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“Companies can spend 1-2 years trying to figure out how to position their business….We can accelerate understanding of how nurses, doctors work.”