Changing the experience of health: that's the focus of the six startups which the Bayer G4A team has included in the Accelerator program this year. The young companies from Canada, Germany, Israel, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States came out ahead of more than 1,800 competitors from 100 countries. They now have 100 days in which to intensively drive the further development of their products and solutions with expertise and investment from Bayer. The company will provide them with offices in Berlin, pharmaceutical executives and industry experts as mentors and EUR 50,000 in funding for each project.
"Digital solutions are essential to driving innovation in an evolving healthcare environment. Bayer is seeking to apply them across the pharmaceutical value chain in order to detect diseases at an earlier stage, to develop medicines faster, and to deliver individual treatments with a meaningful outcome for patients. In this endeavor, we benefit immensely from collaborations and the exchange of knowledge and skills with innovative startups," explains Dieter Weinand, Member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG and head of the Pharmaceuticals Division. Cooperation with startups is an integral part of Bayer's overall digital transformation. The company is driving a Group-wide initiative called "Advancing Digital" to foster innovative solutions in healthcare and agriculture.
Six years ago, Bayer started cooperating with startups in the healthcare sector through the G4A program headed by Eugene Borukhovich. "It's incredible to see the tremendous impact that some of our startups have had in the industry. I’m impressed to see the maturity and significance of their innovative solutions. Through the Accelerator program, I'm convinced we will be able to make a significant contribution to truly change the experience of health as we know it. We will continue to put people at the center of their health and care every single day," Borukhovich says.
The startups that have applied are developing digital solutions that cover the entire value chain within healthcare. Also this year, a patient jury was asked to rank startups according to the impact that their solutions would have on patient experience.
This year's winners are:
- Agamon (Israel, GB): A healthcare intelligence platform that can be used to compile and structure health-related data from various sources in order to derive new information. www.agamon.io
- Cyclica (Canada): A cloud platform that aims to use artificial intelligence and biophysics to accelerate drug development. www.cyclicarx.com
- KinAptic (USA): An accelerated learning system for VR stroke rehabilitation using electric stimulation that analyzes and detects neural signals to stimulate nerves in stroke patients. www.kinaptic.com
- OME (GB): Personalized health coaching that uses extensive data analyses to compile individualized health programs (nutrition, sleep, physical activity) in order to prevent disease. www.ome.health
- S-There Technologies (Spain): A smart device that analyzes health data through urine in the toilet and gives patients insights into their health. https://s-there.com
- Zencorlabs (Germany): A smartphone software and device that uses artificial intelligence to warn patients of heart failure. www.zencorlabs.com
About G4A
G4A is the name under which Bayer combines the Group's digital-health initiatives. These include the identification of new technologies, business models and market trends, and cooperation with startups. The core of this collaboration is the Accelerator program under which Bayer provides startups with offices in Berlin for 100 days, experienced managers as coaches and EUR 50,000 in funding for each project. At the same time, Bayer's Dealmaker program seeks to identify more mature startups capable of working on specific health-related challenges. Bayer launched G4A in 2013, originally with the aim of promoting app development in healthcare (hence the name Grants4Apps). Today Bayer actively promotes G4A in more than 13 countries worldwide to develop and accelerate new collaborations in digital health.
About Bayer
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and agriculture. Its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In fiscal 2017, the Group employed around 99,800 people and had sales of 35.0 billion euros. Capital expenditures amounted to 2.4 billion euros, R&D expenses to 4.5 billion euros.