AICC’s June Medical Committee meeting was hosted by Mark Braunstein of Georgia Tech at the ATDC in Atlanta who gave a compelling presentation on why Healthcare IT is necessary to slow the growth of healthcare costs and why Atlanta and Israeli companies should be at the center of the Healthcare IT growth being accelerated by the current Stimulus package. Atlanta has 100+ companies involved in Healthcare IT including 3 of the top 5 companies, original sources of technology (e.g. Georgia Tech), and providers and provider training (e.g. Emory). Israeli companies have technology and talent to bring to the critical needs: more intelligent clinical knowledge systems and user interfaces that allow doctors to operate systems in patient care, not just at their desks (e.g. voice recognition).
Ran Frankel of Pharma Focus Israel discussed the benefits of doing clinical trials in Israel. As an AICC member, Pharma Focus would like the Chamber’s help in opening doors to biotech companies in the Southeast to enable Pharma Focus to market their services. Two approaches that have worked to date for Pharma Focus: Identifying disease states with higher concentrations in Israel (e.g. Crohn’s Disease) and targeting US companies working on those diseases; and having a relationship with an Israeli key opinion leader who will work on a study for a US-based company.
Other companies introduced to the committee include Ardia Medical a Haifa-based company that develops state-of-the-art medical systems which assist pathologists in daily cancer diagnosis, Healarium a Tel Aviv-based company, that has developed a web-based consumer healthcare software solution that integrates with existing healthcare solutions (such as PHR or EMR, and those available from content providers), so that it adds outreach value to existing services, and MND Diagnostics a Ness Ziona-based company that has developed a groundbreaking approach to molecular diagnostics by employing specific enzymes as biomarkers for detecting disease activity when quick, timely decisions concerning the treatment of choice are critical for maximum impact.
The committee recapped the very successfull reception for the Israel BIO delegation, and talked about the August 27th Professional Seminar that will feature Israeli medical device company Spirocor. Twenty six members and staff participated in the meeting chaired by Nancy Sousa at her first meeting as Committee chair.
