Awarding $250,000 to help startups pilot technologies in healthcare institutions
Announcing next class of Digital Health Breakthrough Network for early-stage health tech companies
New York City Economic Development Corporation today announced the 2017 launch of NYCEDC’s signature digital health initiatives to support both growth-stage and early-stage startups and grow the digital health sector in New York City.
NYCEDC’s Digital Health Marketplace, in partnership with Health 2.0, will award $250,000 this year to help growth-stage health tech startups pilot their technologies in healthcare institutions. Over three cycles of the program, Digital Health Marketplace alumni have gone on to create over 140 jobs and raise over $195 million in venture capital funding.
NYCEDC, in partnership with HITLAB, is also announcing the selection of four companies to participate in the Digital Health Breakthrough Network, an initiative for early-stage startups to test their products with end-users and strengthen their connection to New York City’s healthcare and technology sectors. This year’s cohort includes companies developing wearable technology and smart injection devices, among other products.
The two initiatives—the Digital Heath Marketplace and the Digital Health Breakthrough Network—work in tandem to support growth-stage companies ready for commercialization and early-stage startups ready for product-testing, industry validation, and investment.
“The digital health sector is one of the fastest growing segments of our tech economy and has the potential to be a major job creator for a wide-range of New Yorkers,” said NYCEDC President and CEO James Patchett. “More importantly, the sector is leveraging New York City’s unique tech talent to develop solutions that will impact the health of people around the world. We’re proud to continue to support the growth of the digital health industry, and we’re excited to see how it continues to shape our economy and quality of life.”
“The validation and exposure that resulted from our participation with Digital Health Marketplace was a critical factor in helping our medication adherence predictive analytics business to grow faster, enabling us to build on our successes and sign larger contracts with clients that serve tens of millions of patients,” said Clifford Jones, CEO of Allazo Health and recipient of a Digital Health Marketplace grant.
“Piloting Citus Health with the Digital Health Breakthrough Network helped me identify ways to improve my product’s design to better meet the needs of the patients and providers who use it. At the same time, I was able to gain exposure to potential commercial partners at my study site and build evidence on the impact Citus Health has on home infusion workflow and patient satisfaction,” said Melissa Kozak, CEO of Citus Health and member of the first class of the Digital Health Breakthrough Network.
Digital Health Marketplace
NYCEDC’s Digital Health Marketplace connects buyers and sellers of health technology through twice yearly curated matchmaking events. The program also provides grants to offset the cost of pilot programs between growth-stage tech companies and healthcare institutions based in New York City to help spur rapid adoption of new digital health technologies in New York City.
The grants off-set the cost of piloting and enabling growth-stage tech companies to demonstrate impact to gain stakeholder support within healthcare organizations.
Today’s Digital Health Marketplace matchmaking event, held at the New York City Genome Center, saw the participation of over 60 startups interested in piloting their technologies. Over three years, the program has facilitated over 800 matches and funded pilot solutions that have reached over 13,000 patients. The program has awarded over $2.5 million in grants to date.
Digital Health Breakthrough Network
NYCEDC, in partnership with HITLAB, has also named four companies selected to participate in the second class of the Digital Health Breakthrough Network, which helps startups design and conduct rapid pilot studies that gauge their products’ real-world impact and commercial potential. All four companies will receive support for research design, review board approvals, clinical partner and patient recruitment, and assessment.
Members of the spring 2017 Digital Health Breakthrough Network class include:
Bonbouton, a smart clothes platform that allows users to measure and track vitals and activity in a comfortable and unobtrusive manner. Bonbouton’s devices utilize graphene printing technology that also can be used to produce smart clothes that monitor body temperature, breathing, pulse rate, movement, sleep, and more.
Droice Labs, software that helps physicians predict how specific medications will perform in individual patients. Using machine learning to analyze scientific papers, drug-performance data, patient records, and other sources, Droice Labs’ tools can integrate with all major electronic health records systems and fit naturally into existing physician workflows.
TruCircle, mobile and desktop applications that connect people in underserved communities with mental health resources and address barriers to treatment. TruCircle’s applications aim to dispel stigmas associated with mental illness and match patients with accessible, affordable and culturally competent providers.
QuiO, injection devices and connected software to monitor medication injections administered by patients at home. Compatible with syringe-based medications, QuiO’s Smartinjector One uses built-in cellular technology to relay dosage data and enhance treatment compliance.
Both the Digital Health Marketplace and the Digital Health Breakthrough Network build on the de Blasio Administration’s commitment to invest in industries with high-growth potential to create over 100,000 good jobs in New York City over the next ten years. In December 2016, Mayor de Blasio launched LifeSci NYC, an initiative to create over 16,000 new jobs at all education levels.
To learn more about NYCEDC’s Digital Marketplace, visit nychealthmarketplace.com. To learn more about NYCEDC’s Digital Health Breakthrough Network, visit digitalhealthbreakthroughnetwork.com.
