GE Healthcare Launches Its First Healthcare Accelerator For Emerging Markets
By Jof Enriquez,
Follow me on Twitter @jofenriq
GE Healthcare is earmarking $50 million to fund five.eight, its first healthcare accelerator, which will support startups that develop promising, low-cost medtech technologies specifically designed for emerging markets.
The initial group of ten startups picked to join the program will each receive up to $5 million each to develop and commercially scale a novel, low-cost product, which has the potential to be distributed later by GE Healthcare, or be included in the company's Affordable Care Portfolio under the Sustainable Healthcare Solutions (SHS) business. The newly-created unit markets low-cost, value-based products and services to boost healthcare delivery across multiple settings in African and Asian countries.
“Collaborating with investors allows us to work with some extraordinary entrepreneurs that have promising technologies to extend our portfolio of affordable solutions,” said Terri Bresenham, president and CEO of GE's SHS business, in a news release. “Our goal is to define the next generation of care delivery technologies that can deliver impact where it matters.”
SHS has developed two low-cost devices – the handheld ultrasound device Vscan Access and the Lullaby infant warmer – to help improve maternal infant care in remote rural areas.
The five.eight healthcare accelerator attempts to bring more of these affordable, high-quality devices and services to resource-low healthcare settings, with help from portfolio companies under four social impact investors: Acumen, Aavishkaar-Intellecap Group, Unitus Seed Fund, and Villgro. Five.eight joins the larger GE Innovation Network – a global, connected ecosystem of accelerators, startups, and innovators working on technologies that disrupt and grow markets through digital transformation.
“Globally, it’s estimated that more than 5.8 billion people in the world lack access to quality, affordable healthcare,” said John Flannery, president and CEO of GE Healthcare. “We’ve had a continuous commitment to improving healthcare for those who need it most, but we know we cannot do it alone. Through five.eight, our goal is to fuel the greater global health ecosystem, partnering with social impact investors and global health startups, in order to maximize impact and outcomes for populations with the greatest need.”
The first company signed on to join five.eight is Tricog, a Bangalore-based startup focused on improving survival rates of heart attacks in India by decreasing the average time between symptoms and treatment, according to HIT Consultant. Using cloud-connected ECG devices in medical centers, Tricog helps doctors diagnose a patient within minutes of their arrival at a clinic, improving access to quick, accurate, and affordable diagnosis, which can lead to significant mortality reduction.
GE Healthcare, which grew 15 percent in the first quarter, is looking to leverage its global reach and healthcare expertise into opportunities in emerging markets, where demand for value-based medical technology is growing. Last year, it pledged to invest more than $1 billion over five years to train healthcare professionals and develop localized commercial offerings for the healthcare sector in emerging economies.
To fully unlock opportunities, however, medtech companies like GE need to continue to "embrace the idea of needs-driven local innovation for unmet medical needs," writes MDO Chief Editor Doug Roe. "By designing products that deliver implicit value to those healthcare systems and stakeholders, device makers can secure partnerships that will allow broader market penetration and sustainable growth."