As part of a series of interviews with leading venture investors and developers, Andrew Gaule, founder of the H-I Network and Corporate Venturing Network, talks to William Taranto (pictured), managing director of Global Health Innovation Fund, Merck.

Gaule: Give a brief description of the purpose of your venture, when it was formed and how the process occurs in your organisation?

Taranto: The Global Health Innovation (GHI) Fund, formed in April last year, is focused on driving Merck’s innovation from both a strategic and financial perspective with the ultimate goal of providing a broad-based, patient-centric healthcare suite of services, solutions and products.

Merck’s interest, through the GHI Fund, is in looking at the healthcare environment and delivering our vision of becoming the best healthcare company in the world. Our goal is to understand the needs of the broad health-care ecosystems (payer, provider, clinical, consumer and regulatory) that make up the healthcare market and develop services, solutions and products that link the ecosystems together by delivering best-in-class services, solutions and products to the different channels that make up each ecosystem.

GHI is an autonomous group that reports into the chief strategy office, Merv Turner, and is governed by an internal innovative ventures board.

Gaule: We certainly see it is of great value to have groups such as yours scouting for new technologies and business models for organisations that are facing great change. Give us a brief overview of the people in the team and the partners you work with?

Taranto: The team consists of five individuals. Our business development and venture staff includes a person who focuses on clinical ventures, another who focuses on consumer ventures, one who focuses on information technology ventures, and a team member who focuses on commercial ventures.

Internally, we work with divisional innovation groups as well as the various leadership teams that manage the organisation. Externally, we work with key stakeholders in the healthcare community, including payers, providers, consumers and employers as well as venture capital firms, private equity firms and investment banks.

Gaule: What type of deals is Merck interested in?

Taranto: GHI is a global organisation looking for opportunities in both established and emerging markets with interests that include services, solutions and products in which Merck currently has no presence.

Through the creation of this fund, Merck is focused on exploring new adjacency business opportunities in the healthcare marketplace that may not fit immediately into our traditional pharmaceutical and vaccine business units.

Gaule: What is your view of current market conditions for starting a new venture?

Taranto: This is a great time to start a new venture in healthcare. The health market is expanding, legislation is helping through IT investment and reform, and the consumer (patient) and payer are demanding greater value.

Merck is a company that was built on innovative science. We will continue to bring new innovative products to the market around our core business, which includes ethical pharmaceuticals, vaccines and consumer health products.

The healthcare market is looking for additional services and solutions, including intervention, content, personalised medicine, home health and informatics. Merck is in a perfect position to bring traditional pharmaceutical products to market as well as new patient-centric services and solutions.

Gaule: What do you do to relax when you are not supporting the building of ventures?

Taranto: I am married with two young children, which takes up much of my free time. Personally, I enjoy golf, travel and wine collecting.