Health InnovatAR Healthcare Accelerator Announces Six Startups Selected for 2018 Program
Accomplished Collection of Early Stage Healthcare Companies Begin Work in Arkansas
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — June 5, 2018 — Winrock International, Arkansas Heart Hospital, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and BioVentures today announced the six companies selected to participate in the 2018 Health InnovatAR healthcare accelerator program, which is supported in part through a grant from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. The selected startups include: Day Zero Diagnostics (Boston, MA); Ejenta (San Francisco, CA); ExplORer Surgical (Chicago, IL); Lapovations (Fayetteville, AR); Macro-eyes (Seattle, WA); and Medical Informatics Corp (Houston, TX).
The announcement was held at the Arkansas Heart Hospital with a welcome from Dr. Bruce Murphy, followed by a message from Governor Asa Hutchinson and short presentations from each of the six companies in the cohort.
The six companies were selected from hundreds of applicants across 20 different countries and are based in the foremost healthcare innovation capitals across the U.S. The strength of this cohort is evident in the fact that these companies already have 46 full-time employees and have raised over $15 million of external capital.
“The hospital involvement from Arkansas Heart Hospital and UAMS in this accelerator program is immersive and intensive, setting it apart from other healthcare accelerator programs in the country,” said Health InnovatAR director Jeff Stinson, a member of Winrock International’s Innovate Arkansas team. “This unfettered hospital access has allowed us to attract exceptionally accomplished companies to the program. The disruptive technologies these six companies bring to our hospital partners will help Arkansas Heart Hospital and UAMS continue their commitment to innovation and to deliver the highest quality care possible.”
Participating in a five-month program, the cohort will build solutions to challenges specifically identified by Arkansas Heart Hospital, UAMS and BioVentures as areas of opportunity within their organizations, including digital health platforms, medical devices and diagnostics. Each company will receive seed investment as well as the development and execution of a custom work plan governing their work with the hospital partners over the next five months.
The six companies will be in Little Rock to meet mentors and hospital management teams and to begin custom work plans. Throughout the program, companies will be working not just with Health InnovatAR’s hospital partners, but also with subject matter experts in the fields of HIPAA compliance, FDA/regulatory approval, intellectual property law, sales and marketing, and procurement.
“Arkansas is an emerging world leader in driving innovation in the delivery of healthcare,” said AEDC Executive Director Mike Preston, “and Health InnovatAR provides access to world-class clinical skill and knowledge, and investment capital. By supporting seed investments into start-up companies from across the nation, we are accelerating both growth and innovation in this important sector of our state’s economy.”
Healthcare is a growing industry for the state, comprising 16 percent of all Arkansas jobs with a 64-percent higher wage rate than the mean wage. In an effort to support this important economic contributor, Health InnovatAR and its partners will also be working with Arkansas-based healthcare startups in parallel with the six cohort companies.
Day Zero Diagnostics, Boston, MA
https://www.dayzerodiagnostics.com/
Uses genome sequencing and machine learning to modernize infectious disease diagnosis and treatment.
Ejenta, San Francisco, CA
A platform with remote monitoring and patient engagement applications to improve the lives of patients with chronic health conditions.
ExplORer Surgical, Chicago, IL
A workflow management tool with an interactive surgical playbook for live use during surgery.
Lapovations, Fayetteville, AR
A laparoscopic surgery device that uses existing operating room wall suction to lift and hold the abdominal wall more reliably and less invasively than current alternatives.
Macro-eyes, Seattle, WA
A predictive scheduling application that cuts revenue loss due to no-shows with a seamless add-on to existing scheduling systems.
Medical Informatics Corp, Houston, TX
A Clinical Intelligence Platform that transforms patient data into actionable information in a single, unified dashboard.
http://medicalinformaticscorp.com/
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ABOUT ARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
Created in 1955 to make Arkansas more competitive in the post-World War II era, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC) seeks to create economic opportunity by attracting higher-paying jobs, expanding and diversifying local economies in the state, increasing incomes and investment, and generating positive growth throughout The Natural State. Arkansas is a pro-business environment operating leaner, faster and more focused through a streamlined state government designed to act on corporate interests quickly and decisively.
ABOUT ARKANSAS HEART HOSPITAL
Arkansas Heart Hospital (AHH) is a nationally recognized and award-winning hospital dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. AHH offers advanced technology teamed with a highly trained support staff and Arkansas’ leading cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons. AHH operates a 112-bed hospital, nine catheterization labs, three heart operating suites, and a 24-hour Emergency Center; and, with over 25 clinics statewide, we perform more heart procedures than all hospitals in the state. Arkansas Heart Hospital is also a training center for physicians from all over the world. For more info visit ARHeart.com.
ABOUT BIOVENTURES
BioVentures is a technology commercialization organization and startup incubator focused on promoting the biomedical technology industry for Arkansas and translating research into products that benefit human health. BioVentures links the healthcare research minds to global markets in order to advance Arkansas’ scientific and economic development.
ABOUT INNOVATE ARKANSAS
Innovate Arkansas helps scale promising Arkansas technology ventures. Funded by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and administered by Winrock International, Innovate Arkansas assists technology entrepreneurs in turning startup companies into viable commercial enterprises. As a result of Innovate Arkansas’ programming, the state of Arkansas has benefited from the launch of more than 100 startup companies, the creation of more than 600 Arkansas jobs, a sizable $226 million in revenue generated by these growing ventures, and a total of $265 million raised by our clients in private investment, public investment and federal grants.
ABOUT UAMS
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; hospital; northwest Arkansas regional campus; statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Myeloma Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and Translational Research Institute. It is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 2,834 students, 822 medical residents and six dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses throughout the state, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or www.uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.
ABOUT WINROCK INTERNATIONAL
Winrock is a recognized leader in U.S. and international development with a focus on social, agricultural and environmental issues. Inspired by its namesake, Winthrop Rockefeller, Winrock combines scientific and technical expertise with entrepreneurial innovation to deliver market-based solutions that improve lives around the world. Winrock’s mission is to empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity and sustain natural resources across the globe.
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