
Gary and Mary West, founders of the West Wireless Health Institute, launched a $100 million investment fund that will provide capital to companies whose products make health care more affordable.
The West Health Investment Fund will focus on technologies that transform health care delivery and offer opportunities to significantly lower costs to individuals, providers and government programs such as Medicare.
"Since Mary and I established the West Wireless Health Institute in 2009, we have seen literally hundreds of companies focused on innovative and low-cost health care solutions that cannot find funding," said Gary West in prepared remarks. "Without financial support for low cost health care innovation, the research we do at the Institute and the work other agencies, institutions and entrepreneurs are undertaking will have a tougher path toward becoming a reality and actually lowering health care costs for the public."
Sign up to get our free newsletters delivered straight to your inbox
The West Health Investment Fund’s initial portfolio includes diagnostics technology company Biological Dynamics, medical software company Change Healthcare, cloud-based software maker goBalto, in-home sensor-maker Healthsense, clinical informatics company Humedica, and vital signs monitor-maker Sotera Wireless.
"We are thrilled to be one of the inaugural portfolio companies in the West Health Investment Fund," said Doug Ghertner, president of Change Healthcare, in prepared remarks. "Gary and Mary West’s vision to invest so creatively in health care innovation really resonated with us, as we work to create solutions that help consumers make informed decisions about health care and place the power of purchasing directly in their hands."
Gary and Mary West will not individually profit from the investments made by the West Health Investment Fund, according to the institute.
WWHI has committed any profits made by the fund to medical research.