Georgia Institute of Technology affiliate the Global Center for Medical Innovation said today that it is partnering with Israel’s Rambam Health Care Campus to start a new medtech incubator for Israeli-based companies in Atlanta.
Both groups plan to jointly fund the accelerator, which they plan to fomally announce on October 10.
The GCMI and its T3 Labs subsidiary are non-profit affiliates of Georgia Tech, and will provide, along with the Rambam Health Care Campus, expert advice and consultation to companies to help them obtain funding, navigate commercialization and regulatory clearance and other necessities for entering the US healthcare market.
“Israeli engineering and entrepreneurial expertise regularly translates to medical devices capable of improving patient outcomes while driving the overall cost of care down in many parts of the world, including the United States. We believe our commercialization pathway expertise will increase the speed at which Israeli medtech innovations achieve key milestones and ultimately FDA clearance for use in the United States,” GCMI CEO Tiffany Wilson said in a press release.
Companies selected for the incubator will be hosted for between 6 and 12 months, depending on milestones agreed upon prior to admission. GCMI’s AI accelerator, launched last year, is already hosting three early stage medtech companies and shares relationships with the American Cancer Society, Piedmont Healthcare, Georgia Tech, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and others, the groups said.
The venture was also supported by the Consulate General of Israel to the Southeast, Connex and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, according to a press release.
“The commitment to the joint Biomedical and Digital Health Innovation Center reflects the Government of Israel recent designation of the State of Georgia as a key-state, recognizing Atlanta as a proven technology hub and affirming the strong commercial and technological ties between the two states,” Ambassador and Consul General of Israel to the SE US Judith Shorer said in a prepared statement.
“This relationship efficiently bridges a key gap in market access for Israeli-based healthcare innovators seeking to bring their products to bear on patient care in the United States to the benefit of all concerned. Basing this accelerator in Atlanta not only strengthens the ties between both communities, it provides superior access to potential customers, vendor and manufacturer partners.” Connex CEO Guy Tessler said in a prepared release.
“Bringing together Israel’s Rambam and Atlanta-based GCMI strategically extends metro Atlanta’s outreach to global markets that excel in innovation, particularly in one of our region’s core strengths – the health care ecosystem,” Metro Atlanta Chamber economic development global commerce VP Jorge Fernandez said in prepared remarks.
