Johnson & Johnson Health and Wellness Solutions (JJHWS), a subsidiary of healthcare conglomerate Johnson & Johnson, and accelerator Plug and Play Tech Center have launched an accelerator initiative targeting the wellness industry.
The Health and Wellness Technology Accelerator will consist of a three-month program to early-stage startups that focus on a range of areas including nutrition, physical activity, stress, sleep, alcohol and help with quitting smoking.
JJHWS and Plug and Play have initially committed to collaborating on the program for three years, but they may choose to extend the partnership in annual increments thereafter.
Startups may receive seed and follow-on funding from JJHWS and Plug and Play, but further details conerning that have not yet been disclosed.
The Health and Wellness Technology Accelerator is currently seeking applications for the first cohort, which will begin on March 31, 2016. It will target a ratio of at least one third of the startups having female or minority founders.
Participating startups may also be selected for the Corporate Athlete program run by Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute. Corporate Athlete helps executives balance their work and personal lives more efficiently.
Len Greer, president of JJHWS, said: “Our collaboration with Plug and Play extends Johnson & Johnson’s focus on innovation and investment in a technology-driven healthcare ecosystem that puts people at the centre.
“Our company offers a unique combination of deep consumer insights, behavioural and biological science expertise, regulatory experience, analytics, and design thinking capability, and we are committed to collaborating with the best technology companies to transform human health and wellbeing.”