University City Science Centre, the US’s first and largest urban research park, has selected seven startups for its first Digital Health Accelerator. The startups were chosen from a pool of 69 applicants and range from technologies diagnosing breast cancer, infectious diseases and neurological disorders to consumer apps for wellness and health.
The seven startups consist of five US-based companies, namely Biomeme, Fitly, Life Patch, Curbside Care, and UE LifeSciences, as well as one company from France, Keosys, and one from Canada, Pulse InfoFrame. Both of these latter startups will establish their US headquarters in Philadelphia.
Each startup will receive up to $50,000, on top of professional mentorship, and access to a network of key healthcare stakeholders from the Greater Philadelphia area such as insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and research institutions. The accelerator will last ten months. All seven businesses will gain membership to ic@3401, an innovation centre established recently through a partnership of the Science Centre and Drexel University.
The accelerator was made possible through funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Discovered in PA – Developed in PA programme. The initiative’s aim is to support creative and innovative projects that lead to job creation, as well as help with the commercialisation of new technologies. Its third goal is to support schemes such as the accelerator which grow Pennsylvania’s entrepreneurial community.
Ming Fang, principal of the healthcare deal team at Safeguard Scientifics and a participant on the accelerator’s selection committee, said: “Philadelphia is a hub of healthcare excellence and offers the ideal setting for healthcare startup companies to pilot and commercialize their products. We are excited about the increased activity in the digital health space here in Greater Philadelphia area, and look forward to supporting the awardees to help make their dreams of improving healthcare a reality.”
