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mHUB Announces Next MedTech Accelerator Led by Industry Partners Baxter, Endeavor Health, and GE HealthCare
mHUB opens applications for its 3rd MedTech accelerator to support early-stage companies alongside industry partners with diverse expertise in commercialization and product development
(CHICAGO July 15, 2024) – mHUB, one of the nation’s leading independent hardtech and manufacturing innovation centers, announces the launch of its next MedTech accelerator, which has officially opened applications. The accelerator will be supported by industry partners Baxter International Inc., Endeavor Health, and GE HealthCare and will be the third MedTech cohort that mHUB has funded since launching its first in 2021. The accelerator will be led by industry veteran Monica Vajani who has 18+ years of medical device, corporate innovation, and startup advocacy experience.
Startups in the last MedTech cohort of the mHUB accelerator completed the program with 15 patents filed, 10 clinical trials and pilots, 8 employees hired, and 4.2 million dollars raised. To date, mHUB has invested in 19 early-stage MedTech startups and seeks to accept 8 – 10 into the next accelerator with initial seed investment.
Together, Baxter, Endeavor Health, and GE HealthCare will guide the accelerator’s technological areas of focus and serve on the selection committee to define the cohort. Throughout the program, they will provide direct mentorship, industry insights, and potential pilot opportunities to help startups refine their product development and commercialization strategy. Both Baxter and Endeavor Health previously partnered with mHUB on accelerator programs.
"Baxter has been supporting healthcare innovation for nearly a century with the mission of saving and sustaining lives worldwide,” said Dan Wolf, Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy and M&A Officer at Baxter. “Innovation is key to meeting the current demands of patient care and delivering new therapeutics to improve patient outcomes. Baxter is pleased to be partnering with mHUB on its next MedTech accelerator to uncover new opportunities for unmet clinical needs.”
“As part of Endeavor Health’s commitment to setting a new standard for healthcare, we are proud to support pioneering innovators that have the potential to transform healthcare delivery in our communities,” said Kristen Murtos, Chief Innovation and Transformation Officer, Endeavor Health. “The mHUB accelerator program is a launching pad for many new solutions and technologies that also inspires us to challenge the status quo and ask how we can ‘disrupt ourselves’ in our own organizations. We are excited to work with this cohort to help accelerate and advance these efforts.”
“We at GE HealthCare are excited to be part of mHUB to support the advancement of new technologies and businesses. The opportunity to help startups succeed as they bring new innovations to health care and solve problems faced by patients and care providers aligns with our purpose to create a world where healthcare has no limits,” said Jay Hill, Vice President of Advanced Technologies, GE HealthCare.
The mHUB accelerator is a 6-month, hands-on program focused on product development and commercialization. Startups receive $200K in cash and in-kind services to support prototype development and commercialization plans with access to mentors, strategic programming, legal assistance, state-of-the-art-labs, and opportunities for marketing, pilots, investment, and more.
The program’s Executive Director, Monica Vajani, brings extensive experience in healthcare and medical devices. Previously, she served as the Executive Director of Innovation at GHX, leading initiatives to streamline healthcare supply chains. At CVS Health Monica was a Senior Advisor on the Chronic Care Transformation team, and she led corporate partnerships at healthcare incubator MATTER.
Monica started her career in clinical sales at Abbott and Medtronic, working with over 40 hospitals in the Chicagoland area to introduce innovative cardiac devices. Her diverse background in innovation, chronic care management, and medical device sales equips her to drive the success of mHUB’s accelerator program.
"Our third MedTech accelerator is a testament to the power of collaboration in healthcare innovation," said Monica Vajani, Executive Director, mHUB MedTech Accelerator. "We are equipping early-stage companies with the tools, advisors, and industry insights they need to successfully develop novel technologies and bring them to market.”
“Partnerships with industry leaders such as Baxter, Endeavor Health, and GE HealthCare provide startups with invaluable insights from different vantage points of the healthcare value chain,” said Melissa Lederer, Chief Experience Officer, mHUB, and Managing Partner, mHUB Ventures. “The mHUB accelerator and related fund is one of the leading opportunities for early-stage medical device founders to quickly scale and unlock valuable industry expertise, and I’m thrilled at the line-up of leaders that will be supporting this next cohort.”
Applications for the accelerator can be found here: mHUB MedTech Accelerator.
The program will kick-off in November 2024 at mHUB, with exact dates to be released in September. Other mHUB accelerator programs include concentrations in smart and sustainable manufacturing and climate and energy. For more information, visit www.mhubchicago.com/accelerator.
About mHUB
mHUB is a leading independent hardtech and manufacturing innovation center enabling the commercialization of solutions that impact humanity and strengthening U.S. based manufacturing. The mHUB community includes over 500 active and alumni startups and small businesses supported by a deep talent pool of product designers and developers, entrepreneurs and engineers, manufacturers and corporate leaders, mentors, and investors. mHUB provides a hyper-resourced environment to entrepreneurs with the goal of commercializing new hardtech innovation that will lead to new businesses, intellectual property, investment, revenue, and job creation. Since launching in 2017, the mHUB community has generated more than $1.57B in revenue, launched more than 1,600 products, hired more than 6,400 employees, and raised over $1.89B in capital. To date, mHUB has invested in 46 startups across smart and sustainable manufacturing, climate and energy tech, and medtech.
About Baxter
Every day, millions of patients, caregivers and healthcare providers rely on Baxter’s leading portfolio of diagnostic, critical care, kidney care, nutrition, hospital and surgical products used across patient homes, hospitals, physician offices and other sites of care. For more than 90 years, we’ve been operating at the critical intersection where innovations that save and sustain lives meet the healthcare providers who make it happen. With products, digital health solutions and therapies available in more than 100 countries, Baxter’s employees worldwide are now building upon the company’s rich heritage of medical breakthroughs to advance the next generation of transformative healthcare innovations. To learn more, visit www.baxter.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
About Endeavor Health
Endeavor Health℠ is a Chicagoland-based integrated health system driven by the mission to help everyone in their communities be their best. Illinois’ third-largest health system and third-largest medical group serves an area of more than 4.2 million residents across seven northeast Illinois counties. More than 27,000 team members and more than 7,100 physician and advance practice provider partners deliver seamless access to personalized, pioneering, world-class patient care across more than 300 ambulatory locations and nine hospitals, including eight Magnet-recognized acute care hospitals – Edward (Naperville), Elmhurst, Evanston, Glenbrook (Glenview), Highland Park, Northwest Community (Arlington Heights), Skokie and Swedish (Chicago) and Linden Oak Behavioral Health Hospital (Naperville). For more information, visit www.endeavorhealth.org.
About GE HealthCare Technologies Inc.
GE HealthCare is a leading global medical technology, pharmaceutical diagnostics, and digital solutions innovator, dedicated to providing integrated solutions, services, and data analytics to make hospitals more efficient, clinicians more effective, therapies more precise, and patients healthier and happier. Serving patients and providers for more than 125 years, GE HealthCare is advancing personalized, connected, and compassionate care, while simplifying the patient’s journey across the care pathway. Together our Imaging, Ultrasound, Patient Care Solutions, and Pharmaceutical Diagnostics businesses help improve patient care from diagnosis, to therapy, to monitoring. We are a $19.6 billion business with approximately 51,000 colleagues working to create a world where healthcare has no limits. Follow us on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and Insights for the latest news, or visit our website https://www.gehealthcare.com/ for more information.
