Texas Medical Center, Australia Form BioBridge to Develop Health Innovation
Houston-based Texas Medical Center (TMC) and the Melbourne-based Health Informatics Society of Australia (HISA) are collaborating on a health startup exchange program.
HISA and TMC, with the support of Austrade, are initiating a program, called the BioBridge, to create a global health innovation ecosystem where emerging technologies can be developed, shared and accelerated to advance patient care.
TMC, which is comprised of 57 institutions and facilities, including 21 hospitals, will provide top Australian companies with access to TMC's Innovation Institute and TMCx, a life sciences business accelerator. Through the program, Australian companies will be provided critical services at no cost, including: legal, business planning, regulatory counsel and access to the eight million patient encounters at the TMC annually In turn, HISA will provide guidance to U.S. companies that come to Australia to expand into international markets.
"We believe that through collaboration, we can all achieve more for the health of patients around the world," Robert C. Robbins, M.D., president and CEO of TMC, said in a statement. "We want to advance the very best technologies from around the globe and reduce the financial and operational barriers that stall advances in health care."
"This alliance brings an immediate and real opportunity for Australia's best and brightest to learn from some of the world's top health innovators on a scale we don't yet see in Australia," HISA CEO Louise Schaper, Ph.D., said. "We believe TMC offers a unique learning experience for Australians to test and learn how to embed their innovation within an active, large medical centre – it's a rare opportunity to have real users involved in the co-design and co-creation process."
HISA is a now working with TMC and their partners within Australia to identify and fast track a number of startups and promising companies in Australia within the digital health, health technology and medical device space. Over the longer term, the alliance provides the foundations for growing a bi-lateral innovation and technology transfer between Australia and the United States in digital health and medical technology, according to a press release.
