Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1465061
12 12 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Inside the 'game-changing ideas' at Allegheny Health's innovation lab By Katie Adams N o longer a city known only for its production of steel and Heinz condiments, Pittsburgh's innovation economy is tak- ing off. Allegheny Health Network is positioning itself at the center of that growth, according to Jeffrey Cohen, MD, the Pitts- burgh-based system's chief physician executive for community health and innovation. In 2020, AHN launched AlphaLab Health, a healthcare technology and life sciences accelerator, with Innovation Works, a non- profit business incubator. e accelerator offers healthcare startups up to $100,000 in seed investment, access to Innovation Works' mentorship network, clinical re- sources and office and lab space. In February, AHN transformed its former Bellevue, Pa., hospital cam- pus into an innovation hub for AlphaLab Health. e 10,000-square- foot building includes wet and dry labs, dedicated server access, con- ference rooms and collaboration areas. Here, Dr. Cohen answers questions about how the accelerator was es- tablished and where it's headed. Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and style. Question: Who was involved in AlphaLab Health's creation, and how was it decided that it was the right moment to launch the program? Dr. Jeffrey Cohen: While AHN has long been a leader in clinical re- search and innovation, AlphaLab Health is a transformative partner- ship that takes our commitment to an entirely new level and further elevates the Pittsburgh region's profile as a wellspring of pioneering, game-changing ideas and solutions in healthcare. I previously served as the president of AHN's Allegheny General Hospital, where I saw how the social and economic challenges of the population surrounding the hospital impacted outcomes and the cost of healthcare. In my private life, I had also co-founded multiple healthcare and advanced technology companies, so I knew the in- credible wealth of talent in the Pittsburgh region and how startups could drive innovation into the healthcare system. ose experienc- es together made it clear that retrofitting a community asset that was formerly a hospital, not just as an innovation hub but also as a center for economic development and programs to mitigate social factors impinging on community health, could help improve the trajectory of an entire community. Rich Lunak from Innovation Works is a seminal figure in the Pitts- burgh innovation ecosystem, and we were 100 percent aligned in our vision for how our organizations could create an accelerator that was greater than the sum of its parts. e local philanthropic and business communities and the Pennsyl- vania Department of Community and Economic Development have also offered critical support, both in terms of concrete financing and through the collaboration and strategic inputs it takes to bring a vision like this to life. Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network gave us the time and freedom to develop and adapt the idea as we went. A key component of the success of AlphaLab Health is the access and feedback loop we can provide as an integrated finance and delivery system with AHN and Highmark Health. We can connect founders with clinical mentors and champions, facilitate pilots and clinical studies. Additionally, we help founders understand the pathway to reimbursement/commercialization and better understand the com- plex customer and decision-maker framework for healthcare solu- tions, which expedites development and time to market. I cannot overstate the support, buy-in and forward-looking thinking from our executive team at AHN and Highmark Health that makes this environment possible. e Pittsburgh innovation community and major academic insti- tutions have spent more than a decade laying the groundwork for becoming a global leader, not just in life science and healthcare in- novations but in other technologies including robotics, artificial in- telligence/machine learning and advanced computing. e city was named one of the top innovation ecosystems globally, and we have seen several high-profile initial public offerings and acquisitions of Pittsburgh-born companies. e local talent environment, the prospects of biotech and life scienc- es breakthroughs expected globally in the next decade, and the com- paratively low capital expenditure to convert an old hospital to a lab and co-working space all pointed to this being the right time to make a strategic bet on this idea and this community. Q: How did Allegheny Health select Innovation Works as its partner? JC: Innovation Works has a long track record of helping entrepreneurs convert their ideas into products. ey are one of the most active seed- stage funders in the country and have an unwavering commitment to solving hard problems. One-third of the Innovation Works portfolio has consistently been life sciences since the inception of the seed fund in 1999. is is particularly relevant to life sciences companies, as it is extremely difficult to find a funder at the earliest stages of life sci- ence development when the companies are likely to be pre-revenue, pre-customer and far away from clinical trials and FDA approval. In the life sciences sector, the combination of an experienced accelera- tor operator with a large integrated health system was an opportunity to advance innovation into AHN. Q: How was the innovation hub in Bellevue designed, and how will that design foster innovation? "I cannot overstate the support, buy- in and forward-looking thinking from our executive team at AHN and Highmark Health that makes this environment possible." Dr. Jeffrey Cohen, Allegheny Health Network