Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • ESG: THE IMPLEMENTATION IMPERATIVE
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Digital Health
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Transformation
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Unwell in America
  • Opinion
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
  • Data Center
    • Data Center Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Technology
July 07, 2022 04:55 PM

AI tech founders abroad seek partnerships to navigate U.S. healthcare

Jessica Kim Cohen
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    artificial-intelligence-4469138_1280_i_i.jpg
    Getty Images

    Dr. John Halamka, president of Mayo Clinic's healthcare technology and big data effort, Mayo Clinic Platform, last week traveled more than 6,000 miles to kick off the Rochester, Minnesota-based health system's latest technology initiative: a partnership with Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv.

    The two hospitals will co-develop and validate artificial-intelligence algorithms, including those used for image analysis, digital pathology and clinical specialties like cardiology, neurology and nephrology.

    Mayo Clinic and Sheba Medical Center also will support AI startups participating in one another's innovation programs. For instance, Mayo Clinic will help AI startups working with Sheba Medical Center understand U.S. market needs, compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and Food and Drug Administration clearance.

    "We believe that to be successful in global health care transformation, which is [the] Mayo Clinic Platform vision, you need to work globally and embrace the best technologies across the globe," Halamka wrote in an email.

    Mayo Clinic is the latest healthcare organization to strike a deal abroad as a way to tap into a wider ecosystem of AI discoveries.

    Funding for healthcare AI startups across the globe nearly doubled last year, as investors poured $12.2 billion into such companies, according to data compiled by CB Insights. Healthcare AI funding hit a quarterly record high in the year's fourth quarter, at $3.7 billion.

    While U.S.-based startups dominated healthcare AI funding, nearly one-third—or $1.1 billion—of fourth-quarter funding went to firms in other regions, mainly in Asia and Europe.

    Nevertheless, it's not an easy journey for products moving into the U.S. market, particularly for technologies picking up traction like AI. Startups must establish business models that align with how U.S. healthcare works and navigate a complex regulatory approval and payment landscape composed of a medley of Medicare, Medicaid and private payers.

    Just because a startup has a regulatory approval—like CE mark, which signifies European regulatory approval—from another government doesn't mean it's a shoo-in to be greenlit by the U.S.'s FDA. In fact, it's common to see companies obtain CE mark for devices three or more years before putting the product on the market in the U.S., said Brian Scarpelli, senior global policy counsel at the Connected Health Initiative, an industry coalition that advocates on health technology policies.

    That's where collaborations with U.S. healthcare organizations can prove fruitful. The partnerships can provide healthcare organizations with early access to innovations, and entrepreneurs with support as they develop a localized business plan.

    AI startup Soundable Health was founded in South Korea in 2017 and in 2018 established its headquarters in San Francisco. "It was a very natural decision for us," said Catherine Song, its founder and CEO.

    The startup's primarily working in the U.S., although it's also exploring partnerships in Europe and South Korea.

    During Soundable Health's first few years, it focused on developing the AI technology. But in 2020, the company turned its focus toward commercializing the first product—an app that assesses bladder health by analyzing the sounds of a patient's urine flow—and preparing to sell to academic medical centers and specialty urology clinics in the U.S.

    For support as it learned the intricacies of the U.S. healthcare system, Soundable Health collaborated with the not-for-profit Korea Small-Medium Enterprises and Startups Agency, which is funded by the South Korean government, and Chicago-based healthcare startup incubator Matter.

    The program, dubbed the Korean SME U.S. Market Adoption Program, helps Korean companies tailor their product, sales and fundraising strategies for the U.S. Matter has a similar program for Canadian startups and in June partnered with Amazon's cloud arm for an incubator focused on startups based in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

    Texas Medical Center, a medical district based in Houston, has been developing infrastructure to help launch international startups. The group's BioBridge program—which started with Australia in 2016—partners with agencies in other countries and helps startups from those regions develop go-to-market strategies and test their products in the U.S.

    The program has expanded with the United Kingdom, Denmark and as of May, with Ireland. In many cases, startups that enter the U.S. through BioBridge establish their U.S. base by the Texas Medical Center campus, giving member hospitals continued access to their work, said Bill McKeon, Texas Medical Center's president and CEO.

    "We want the best solution—whether it be a next medical device, or a next drug, or a next digital solution—we want that to happen on this campus," McKeon said.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    IBM Quantum System One at Cleveland Clinic_4_0.jpg
    Cleveland Clinic, IBM unveil quantum computer
    Dr. Alice Zheng
    Women's digital health sector poised for growth, venture capitalist predicts
    Most Popular
    1
    More healthcare organizations at risk of credit default, Moody's says
    2
    Centene fills out senior executive team with new president, COO
    3
    SCAN, CareOregon plan to merge into the HealthRight Group
    4
    Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan unveils big push that lets physicians take on risk, reap rewards
    5
    Bright Health weighs reverse stock split as delisting looms
    Sponsored Content
    Health IT Strategist (HITS) Newsletter: Sign up for the latest IT and medical technology news delivered 3 days a week (M, W, F).
     
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Digital Health
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Unwell in America
    • Opinion
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top 25 Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Data Center
      • Data Center Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing