Class is in session for 10 early-stage mHealth companies hoping to find their niche in this fast-evolving market.
The startups are in the midst of a 16-week program developed by business accelerator Healthbox and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts. They have so far completed a two-week intensive "boot camp," designed to help them understand the industry, improve the value proposition of their product(s) and refine their business plan.
“The boot camp helps our companies think carefully about how to both approach the overall accelerator experience, refining their value proposition to the marketplace,” said Nina Nashif, founder and CEO of Healthbox, in an April 2 press release announcing the program. “This is an exceptional class of entrepreneurs that truly span the diverse challenges facing the industry, from wellness and prevention through end-of-life wishes. We’re excited to see their continued transformation throughout the remaining 14 weeks.”
“The two-week boot camp gave us new insights and a systems-level perspective on how to take Cellyanyx from an academic project to an actual business," said Ashok Chander, CEO of Cellanyx Diagnostics, one of the participating companies, in the release.
This is the second Boston-based accelerator program launched by Healthbox, which also has offices in Chicago and London and has so far worked with 37 healthcare companies. According to officials, the 10 startups in last November's 12-week program "have already created new jobs, received follow-up investments and made significant traction toward improving outcomes in the healthcare industry."
After the November program Healthbox and BCBSMA officials decided to add two weeks to the beginning and end of their program, creating a 16-week session.
Those companies involved in the current program are:
- 3Derm Systems, which is developing a product that would allow patients to take two- and three-dimensional images of lesions at home to be digitally reviewed by a dermatologist.
- Caring in Place, which is working on a technology platform to help family caregivers care for aging loved ones.
- Casagem, which provides tablet-based data collection and data-processing tools for the homecare industry.
- Cellanyx, which is developing a live-cell biomarker-based diagnostic test to determine oncogenic and metastatic potential for prostate tumors.
- Epion Health, which is developing a cloud-based, device-agnostic tablet solution to digitize paper-based intake and discharge processes.
- Hospitalytics, which is developing software that analyzes surgical booking trends to predict future caseloads.
- Lean Wagon, which provides online group health coaching for employees, with a focus on weight loss and building healthy habits.
- MyProxy, which is developing a web-based platform that enables patients to create, update and share healthcare proxies and advance directives for end-of-life care.
- Sensing Strip, which is developing a device that would integrate thin film sensing electronics with kinesiology tape, creating an "electronic sensing tape" that could be placed anywhere on the patient’s body and wirelessly transmit real-time ambulatory, cardiac, respiratory, or other data to a smartphone or tablet.
- TheraVid, which is developing a web-application designed to improve physical therapy adherence in the home.
“Blue Cross is committed to bringing innovation to the state’s health care industry,” said Andrew Dreyfus, president and CEO of BCBSMA, in the press release. “It is encouraging that we continue to see an uptick in startups and entrepreneurs who are developing innovative technology solutions to improve the healthcare industry while boosting our local economy.”
