Collaborative aims to heighten the region’s profile as a global leader in health care innovation
Philadelphia, PA – Independence Blue Cross (Independence) announced that it is a founding member of the newly created CEO Council for Growth (CEO Council) Health Care Innovation Collaborative (Collaborative), a multi-institutional initiative that aims to heighten the region’s profile as a global leader in health care innovation. The Collaborative was the idea of the CEO Council’s Health Care Innovation Task Force co-chairs Daniel J. Hilferty, president and CEO of Independence Blue Cross, and John Fry, president of Drexel University.
The other founding Collaborative members are: Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Comcast, Drexel University, Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health System, and University of Pennsylvania Health System.
“The Greater Philadelphia area has all the components to be a global leader in health care innovation — world-class universities and teaching hospitals, a strong health and life sciences economy, an active entrepreneurial community, and an ever-growing talent pool with real-life experience in the health care industry,” said Hilferty. “The goal of the Collaborative is to connect early stage health companies with large health care institutions to help them better understand the problems they are trying to solve. These connections and resources will make it easier for new companies to more quickly bring to market products and services that improve people’s health.”
Working with the CEO Council, a soon-to-be hired program director for the Collaborative will be identifying common health care needs among partnering institutions, creating and managing a process for receiving proposed health care solutions, and assisting early-stage companies in navigating the region’s health ecosystem.
The Collaborative is the latest in a series of critical steps Independence has taken over the last five years to boost innovation in our region. In 2014, the company launched the Independence Blue Cross Center for Health Care Innovation and today it houses all of Independence’s innovation initiatives, including:
- DreamIt Health partnership with Penn Medicine and DreamIt Ventures to discover, nurture, and invest in promising new health care startups from all across the nation, bringing them to Philadelphia to establish and grow their business.
- $50M Strategic Innovation Portfolio which invests capital, expertise, and other resources into companies, including DreamIt Health businesses, that are focused on bringing innovation to health care through new technologies, products, and services.
- Research collaborations with major medical and educational institutions, including Penn Medicine, Drexel University, and NYU Langone Medical Center on research that helps improve medication adherence and predict diabetes, for example.
About Independence Blue Cross
Independence Blue Cross is the leading health insurance organization in southeastern Pennsylvania. With our affiliates, we serve 9.6 million people in 25 states and the District of Columbia, including 2.5 million in the region. For nearly 80 years, we have been enhancing the health and wellness of the people and communities we serve by delivering innovative and competitively priced health care products and services; pioneering new ways to reward doctors, hospitals, and other health care professionals for coordinated, quality care; and supporting programs and events that promote wellness. To learn more visit www.ibx.com. Connect with us on Facebook at ibx.com/facebook and on Twitter at @ibx. Independence Blue Cross is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
Media contact
Ruth Stoolman
ruth.stoolman@ibx.com
215-241-4807 (office)
215-667-9537 (cell)