Royal Philips CEO Frans van Houten's visit to Israel is taking place on the occasion of the official opening of the Sanara Ventures incubator, in which Philips is a partner with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA). Assaf Barnea will manage the incubator.
As of the date of the launch, the incubator had already considered 250 companies, and had invested in two of them: Kaleidoscope Medical, which has developed a system for protecting against radiation during catheterization (Philips is already cooperating with Corindus Vascular Robotics, a semi-Israeli company in a similar field), and MGD, which has developed a mobile device for testing lung functioning that can be used to monitor COPD patients in hospitals and at home more frequently and effectively than the devices currently used, according to the companies. At the event, Philips and Teva announced that they would invest NIS 100 million more (NIS 50 million each) in Sanara's companies over eight years, beyond supporting them with their knowledge, experience, and strategic connections. The Office of the Chief Scientist is also providing supplementary financing.
Three or four companies will be included in the incubator by the end of the year. At the event, van Houten stated, "Over the year, the Israeli investment community has presented groundbreaking innovation through the global market. We regard Sanara Ventures as an excellent way of being involved in innovative developments in medical technologies." Barnea explained, "Where do you, as a medical devices, imaging, and consumer products company, intersect with the vision of Teva, a pharmaceuticals company? Both companies agree that in order to make these revolutions, tremendous innovation is necessary, and our job is to make sure that this innovation does not flag. Furthermore, we also agree that health has up until now been a very compartmentalized field - doctors, medical devices, pharmaceutical companies, and home treatment - and that in the new health world, everything has to come together."
At the event, Teva CEO Erez Vigodman said, "The public is becoming much more aware of health, diseases, and the risks and preventative possibilities. For us this is a significant change, because patients no longer want to just get drugs from us; they want a complete health solution. We won't succeed as a company if we just chase after the next pharmaceutical molecule. Philips and Teva are the right companies to deal with the challenge together, because we're two veteran companies that are reinventing ourselves in a world of young companies." Vigodman added that a return of at least 20% on the investment in the incubator was expected, together with the establishment of 3-5 significant companies with revenue of at least $200 million within 5-7 years, and at least two companies with revenue of $500 million within 7-10 years.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 20, 2015
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