Startups in Cedars-Sinai’s Third Accelerator Class Announce Deals and Partnerships

Ten innovative health-tech companies that completed the fall 2017 session of the Cedars-Sinai (@CedarsSinai) Accelerator Powered by Techstars have announced new contracts and partnerships to bring their leading-edge technologies to patient care.

The companies, chosen from more than 500 applicants to participate in the Cedars-Sinai Accelerator Powered by Techstars, worked for three months under the mentorship of Cedars-Sinai staff and leadership. The goal: rapidly develop innovations aimed at solving existing healthcare problems and bring new ideas to the field. Recently, company leaders presented their innovations to investors, mentors and leaders in healthcare.

Most of the companies now have pilot projects underway with Cedars-Sinai, and others have secured commercial contracts with other health systems and companies.

“I was really impressed by the passion coming from these companies,” said Richard Riggs, MD, Cedars-Sinai vice president and chief medical informatics officer. “We can never underestimate that passion, which can be married with innovation to create new products to bring changes to healthcare.”

Omkar Kulkarni, director of the accelerator program, said this group of companies — the third since the program launched in 2016 — came from diverse stages and backgrounds and many parts of the world. “We’ve really been able to find meaningful pilot opportunities with this cohort,” he said.

Included in the announcements at Demo Day on Dec. 6:

• Aiva — An Alexa-like voice-powered device that replaces the patient button and allows hospital patients to send requests to their caregivers, which will then route them to the correct department. Aiva announced contracts with Cedars-Sinai, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital and a local skilled nursing facility, and hopes to have 100 live beds before the new year.
• CancerAid — One of the top apps for cancer patients — providing individualized cancer therapy information and resources — announced contracts with three hospitals, including the University of Texas and MD Anderson Cancer Center.
• CareScriptions by Seremedi — A mobile patient-care solution that helps equip home caregivers with tools and education has a contract with Cedars-Sinai and three other hospitals, including the University of Texas and MD Anderson Cancer Center.
• ChoiceMap — A system that helps patients understand treatment options and helps care teams tailor clinical decisions to each person’s needs will begin a pilot program with a primary care practice in the Cedars-Sinai Medical Network.
• Gyant — A mobile app that uses artificial intelligence to help doctors diagnose, prescribe and recommend treatment options now has a contract with Merck and European insurance giant Allianz.
• Invio — A content management system that replaces the need for paper and regulatory binders in clinical trials will test its technology in 10 studies being conducted at Cedars-Sinai.
• Lumeon — A digital health company with a care pathway orchestration platform will pilot its technology with Cedars-Sinai and has launched at 1,800 hospitals and clinics in the United Kingdom.
• NarrativeDX — The advanced patient experience platform with an artificial intelligence comment-processing platform that analyzes, diagnoses and pinpoints patients’ experiences and provides actionable insights now has a contract with Cedars-Sinai as well as 10 other U.S. hospitals.
• Sway Health — An app that provides digital preventive counseling has a contract with National Jewish Health.
• HemoLink by Tasso — A virtually painless blood-collection device that allows patients to draw their own blood samples for lab testing has a contract with Merck to help with the pharmaceutical company’s clinical trials. It also has a contract with Insource Diagnostics and a deal with the U.S. Department of Defense and a partnership with Cedars-Sinai.

In addition to three months of personalized guidance, each company received $120,000 in seed money. The first Cedars-Sinai Accelerator Powered by Techstars launched in 2016 with 11 companies. Applications will be accepted starting in January for the summer 2018 cohort.

“I think this is the most exceptional program in the healthcare space,” said Kim Bond Evans, CEO of CareScriptions by Seremedi. “We got so much support from Cedars-Sinai mentors; they were so willing to help and tell us what was working and what wasn’t.”