Becker's Hospital Review

July 2022 Issue of Becker's Hospital Review

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44 INNOVATION improve patient care or bring efficiency to processes and services, while generating attractive risk adjusted returns. When we invest in startups, we consider the ease of adoption, scalability and value that is brought to the system. ere is also strong consideration giv- en to the strength of the management team and the respective advisory boards. Ultimately, we want our investment and demonstrated use of the product to be accretive to the company, wherein we can materially support the company's growth trajectory, and in the process, sustain a culture of innovation. Mayank Taneja. OSF Healthcare Director of Venture Investments (Peoria, Ill.). OSF Ventures, the investing arm of OSF HealthCare, a 15-hospital health care sys- tem in Peoria, Illinois, was launched in 2016 on the be- lief that scaling investments through partnerships and practical collaborations with budding tech companies from across the globe could help us bring emerging healthcare solutions to OSF HealthCare clinics and hospitals, most oen before they are broadly marketed and deployed. OSF Ventures has $250 million in assets under manage- ment and invests primarily in series A and B funding rounds using a strategy that links investments to key priorities — improved patient care, better outcomes and greater operational efficiency. We invest in companies that appreciate the opportunity to collaborate and receive feedback from OSF Health- Care clinicians and other professionals within the orga- nization. Our focus is on digital solutions, tech-enabled services and medical technology including medical de- vices, diagnostics and therapeutics. ere are so many great ideas and passionate inventors, but we insist on solutions that solve a relevant need at scale. Apart from the solution or technology itself, our team assesses other key factors such as the company's leadership, the competitive landscape, regulatory and reimbursement risks, and the startups' ability to scale the business. Matt Warrens. Managing Director of Innovation for UnityPoint Health (Des Moines, Iowa). Unity- Point Health Ventures makes direct investments in ideas and partners that provide an easier, more per- sonal experience for patients and providers and this is our guiding principle. We look to invest broadly across healthcare, and we strive to invest in companies poised to benefit as much — if not more — from the strategic partnership as the financial investment. is approach heavily influences our focus on digital health, Health IT and tech-enabled services. We take a more opportunistic approach with devices and diagnostics and maintain a focus on meeting needs with- in care delivery organizations, including our own. We make it a priority to align our investments with our stra- tegic roadmap, and many portfolio companies contract with UnityPoint Health. e healthcare industry faces immense pressure to adapt and evolve, and technology (along with consumer and end-user expectations) will be a key component of industry transformation. n CommonSpirit, AdventHealth invest in behavioral health startup By Katie Adams B ehavioral health startup Concert Health on April 27 closed a $42 million series B funding round. The funding round was led by Define Ventures, according to a news release. Two health systems — Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health and Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth — participated in the round. Concert Health integrates behavioral health clinicians into existing pri- mary care, pediatrics and women's healthcare teams. This model can de- crease symptoms of depression and anxiety, improve medication adher- ence and increase patient satisfaction, the company said in the release. The company will use the funds to scale up its behavioral health ser- vices nationwide. "Accessible behavioral health support is imperative to improving whole-person health, and Concert has been instrumental in helping us deliver this important service," Jeff Graff, AdventHealth's vice president of treasury and strategic investments, said in the release. "Through our work with Concert we have seen a significant increase in patient engagement with behavioral health, and we are excited to support Concert as they con- tinue to scale their services with our clinicians around the country." n Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center training AI to 'sniff out' cancer By Naomi Diaz N ew York City-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center researchers' AI sensor, trained to identify ovarian cancer, was found to be more effective than currently used methods for ear- ly detection. The cancer detection technology, which uses an array of sensors made of carbon nanotubes that can detect certain molecules in a blood sam- ple, combined with a machine-learning algorithm to identify a cancer fingerprint, was used in an experiment using blood samples obtained from patients with ovarian cancer, according to a May 13 press release. Researchers found that the nanosensors detected ovarian cancer more accurately than currently available biomarker tests. "This technology could potentially find more subtle, complex changes in the blood, which may be the key to early detection — and early detection will save lives," said Kara Roche, MD, author of the study and surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Researchers say the technology can be adapted to detect many types of cancers using the same set of sensors, but more work is needed to confirm that this test works in people. n

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