Edison, New Jersey-based Hackensack Meridian Health has opened a facility that will give researchers the support they need to develop therapies for diabetes, dementia, cancer, auto-immune disorders and antibiotic-resistant infection.
Dubbed the Center for Discovery and Innovation, it is housed on the ON3 campus, which is the former site of Hoffmann-La Roche in Nutley and Clifton, New Jersey. The CDI is located next to the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University.
The center’s goals include uniting top researchers and serving as a research hub for medical school students. More specifically, it will be organized around three areas: the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the Institute for Cancer and Infectious Disease and the Institute for Multiple Myeloma.
“This is about improving outcomes for patients by streamlining the process to develop major breakthroughs and bringing together the greatest minds in science and medicine,” said Hackensack Meridian Health CEO Robert Garrett in a statement.
Funding for CDI comes from individual and corporate philanthropy, venture philanthropy, venture capital and the government (via grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute).
This isn’t the first time Hackensack Meridian Health has dipped its toes in innovation work.
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.
In 2017, it invested $25 million to create its own healthcare incubator with the New Jersey Technology Innovation Institute. Hackensack Meridian also invested in Pillo Health, a Boston startup focused on helping patients at home. Pillo offers an Amazon Alexa-like robot that answers individuals’ questions and dispenses their medication.
Other providers have been jumping on the innovation bandwagon as well.
Phoenix, Arizona-based Banner Health, for instance, recently launched a new initiative: Banner Innovation Group, or BIG for short. Although BIG was officially unveiled last month, Banner already had existing innovative efforts in areas like telehealth. BIG is a way to centralize all these pieces under one umbrella.
Photo: Pixtum, Getty Images
