US-based healthcare incubator Matter launched in Chicago last week with $8m of funding, $4.4m of which had been provided by private investors.
Matter aims to help connect entrepreneurs with strategic partners that will help them build innovative healthcare businesses.
Corporates backing the scheme include pharmaceutical firms AbbVie, Astellas, Horizon Pharma, Marathon Pharmaceuticals and Takeda Pharmaceuticals; medical technology providers EdgeOne Medical, Medline Industries and Allscripts; healthcare provider OSF Healthcare; technology supplier CDW; media company Crain’s Chicago Business; and cable service provider Comcast.
The other equity investors in Matter are American Heart Association, Avia, Healthios, Insight Product Development, Jones Day, JPMorgan Chase, Marshall, Gerstein & Borun, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Sidley Austin, Silicon Valley Bank, State Farm and William Blair.
The private funding will be complemented by a $2.5m grant and a $1.5m loan, both of which were provided by the State of Illinois.