US-based healthcare provider UnityPoint Health formed an investment vehicle yesterday called UnityPoint Health Ventures Innovation Fund that is equipped with $100m in funding.
The funding came from a reallocation of existing capital earmarked for investment and will represent 5% of the company’s investment portfolio, while having the advantage of providing a more structured and targeted focus for UnityPoint’s deals.
UnityPoint Health’s health system encompasses 32 hospitals and home care services across nine local regions across the states of Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. The fund will focus on early-stage companies in four key sectors: digital health, medical devices, therapeutics and healthcare services.
Beyond investing in companies, UnityPoint Health Ventures Innovation Fund will also seek to connect its portfolio to its parent’s network of clinical and operational staff in order to test and scale technologies on their behalf.
For its part, the corporate anticipates portfolio companies to help it drive business sustainability, growth and patient care.
The unit will be led by Kent Lehr, vice-president of strategy and business development at UnityPoint Health, and Matthew Warrens, the company’s managing director of innovations.
Lehr said: “This fund will help maximise the impact and value of our Innovation Center which encourages employees to identify processes within the health system that could operate better or more efficiently.
“Some of our investments will go to companies with products that can help us address challenges submitted by our employees. Our strategic investments will seek to provide UnityPoint Health with collaborative solutions to make the patient experience easier and more personal.”
