Roche, a Swiss healthcare giant with global reach, teams up with one of the leading Israeli healthcare and life sciences VC firm, aMoon, on a collaborative investment program aimed at accelerating innovative diagnostic technologies from Israel’s healthtech ecosystem. The collaboration, called “StarFinder Lab,” will provide funding, mentoring, and strategic support to “9 Stars,” newly-formed or existing ventures, elected through the program.
The partnership focuses on identifying and cultivating disruptive AI-driven data as well as digital healthcare solutions from early-stage startups providing different technological solutions for the many different moving aspects of healthcare. “Healthtech and AI are transforming the healthcare industry as we know it, and we see great value in working with Israeli healthcare innovators as they build their companies,” said Michele Pedrocchi, Head of Global Strategy and Business Development at Roche Diagnostics.
The joint venture will create an innovative atmosphere, where selected startups will receive access to global expertise from the Roche and aMoon. Through focused guidance startups will be able to tap into the Swiss healthtech company and the partnering VC firm’s vast resources including capital, key-market access, deep data, as well as office space at aMoon’s Israel-based headquarters.
Pedrocchi continues to explain: “This program will allow us to build exceptional relationships with Israel’s brightest entrepreneurs, as well as take an active and strategic role in building disruptive start-ups together with Israel’s leading Life Sciences and HealthTech fund. aMoon’s
experience and know how in healthtech investment complements our ability to provide unique market access and expertise to design solutions that are tailored to real market needs in collaboration with our customers globally. This program is a valuable aspect of our digital healthcare footprint and we are excited about the potential of this initiative.”
“StarFinder’s emphasis is on the best of the best talents who can deliver impactful solutions for defined global challenges in healthcare," said Avi Danziger, CEO of Roche Israel. "Roche Global is ranked first in the world among healthcare companies with global investments in R&D reaching $12.6 billion in 2019. Roche brings with it unique integration capabilities under “OneRoche” for leading the world’s personalized healthcare, with most effective and safe solutions to the right patients, at the right time at the right value.”
“As a world-renowned digital innovation hub, Israel has robust entrepreneurial resources that can provide solutions to major challenges faced by the healthcare industry,” said Dr. Yair Schindel, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at aMoon. “As part of our vision, aMoon continuously seeks to accelerate cure and serve as a design partner to promising entrepreneurs with transformative technologies. This partnership with Roche, a global leader in pharmaceuticals, diagnostics and digital health, has the potential to be a real game-changer for early-stage companies from across the healthcare industry, allowing them to move faster and with greater success. We look forward to working closely with Roche and with superstar Israeli entrepreneurs to make this program a model of industry-VC collaboration for the benefit of the Israeli HealthTech ecosystem and for healthcare globally.”
The devastating outbreak of COVID-19 has demanded the healthtech industry to step up its game in the battle against virus. This has accelerated incredible advancements in telehealth solutions and remote medicine capabilities. As part of this effort, partnerships like this also aim to look past the COVID future, bringing to life and everyday use life-changing technologies. This forward-thinking connects enabler with idea, further spreading the impact of Israel’s healthtech ecosystem.
