JVP, pharma giant AstraZeneca launch digital health platform
The program will focus on a wide range of clinical and non-clinical areas of practice to develop breakthrough technologies, including cancer, lung disease, and cardiovascular disease.
By EYTAN HALONA man rides a bicycle past the offices of venture capital firm JVP in Jerusalem(photo credit: REUTERS)
Jerusalem Venture Partners and British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca on Monday called on start-ups to apply to PlayBeyondBio, a joint platform established with NGO Israel Initiative 2020 to grow internationally disruptive digital health companies.Ten start-ups will be selected to join the business platform, which seeks to connect entrepreneurs, investors and potential customers during a six-month program. The partnership is in collaboration with Maccabitech Healthcare Research and Innovation Institute, Morris Kahn, the Sagol Fund, Shaare Zedek Medical Center and Microsoft for Startups.Selected start-ups will be assigned a team of mentors to assist them define their vision, potential markets and messaging.Experts from UK-headquartered AstraZeneca will guide the start-ups in development, regulation and sales in the healthcare sector. JVP staff will share experience of building global companies and securing investments.“PlayBeyondBio is revolutionary in the development of Israeli digital healthcare start-ups that have the potential to change rules of the game worldwide,” JVP founder and chairman Dr. Erel Margalit said. “We connect the entrepreneur, the investor, the customer and the healthcare system in the earliest stage within one ecosystem. Israel now has the opportunity to become a global leader in digital healthcare innovation, and Israeli entrepreneurs have the ability to lead this revolution.”The program will focus on a wide range of clinical and nonclinical areas of practice to develop breakthrough technologies, including cancer, lung disease, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disease. The strategic partners behind the program will be involved at all stages of the development process, including recruitment and the possibility of commercial agreements during and after the program.“AstraZeneca’s local representatives have been working for over a decade to provide medicine and investment in clinical research in Israel, and we are proud to launch PlayBeyondBio, a unique program created as part of the recognition of Israel as an emerging force in digital innovation and health,” AstraZeneca Israel CEO Ohad Goldberg said. “AstraZeneca, along with the strategic partners of the program, will support the development of medical solutions that provide the healthcare system with better tools to address patients in Israel and around the world.”Once applications close on March 11, start-ups will be screened according to the proof of value of suggested technologies and the magnitude of the need for the product, the program partners said.
