Your Advantage - The ABHI Innovation Hub Within WorkSpaces @ Texas Health Colab

Now in its third year, WorkSpaces @ Texas Health CoLab within Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin has made significant strides toward creating an inclusive work environment that encourages health care innovation and engages companies, clinicians and academic researchers. Throughout the journey, many companies have flourished, and startups have been born.

When WorkSpaces @ Texas Health CoLab was established in October 2017, ABHI was among the first members, creating an innovation hub within the WorkSpaces that enables U.K. companies to expand to the U.S. to continue developing promising medical technology that serves patients in both countries.

For U.K. companies wanting to enter the U.S. market there are several keys to success:

  • Spend time in the U.S., using the ABHI Innovation Hub at WorkSpaces as your base.
  • Plan ahead and reach out to the Dell Med team to set meetings, gain insights and collect feedback. We’ll also look to connect you to some resources in the community for meetings and information gathering ahead of time of your visit.
  • Prepare to rediscover your value proposition by asking yourself these questions:
    • Is the workflow for my product the same in the U.S. as it is in the U.K.?
    • How will my value proposition be received in the U.S.? How can I find out if I need to adjust my communication?
    • In the U.S., who will be the user and who will be the payer?
    • How does my product fit into accepted medical practice in the U.S.? Explore opportunities for conferences where specialists applicable to your field gather.
    • Am I coming prepared with questions to ask stakeholders to understand current pain points, solutions currently on the market and their shortcomings?

In addition, some startups have developed partnerships with Dell Med clinicians and faculty to further research and develop their technology. For example, Directed Systems has established a close relationship with a Dell Med faculty member and anesthesiologist at Dell Seton Medical Center at UT Austin. The team recently achieved FDA clearance and is currently looking for opportunities to test their innovation at Dell Seton. Other Dell Med teams are investigating proposed projects to determine feasibility and fit.

Partnerships With Dell Med

There are a couple of different partnership models that the Texas Health CoLab team facilitates between faculty and companies; industry-sponsored research and product co-development. Dell Med aims for projects to provide a mutual and equal benefit to the industry partner and the institution.

When evaluating projects for collaborative opportunities, Dell Med teams ask a few key questions: Does this product improve health, outcomes or allow us to serve more patients in a better way? How will this product fit into our current workflow? How much time is required by Dell Med clinicians, faculty and staff? What is the benefit to Dell Med and is the institution being fairly compensated?

For startups, we encourage investigating funding through sources like the National Institutes of Health and Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) as collaborations or through direct funding. There may also be opportunities to connect with U.S.-based investors if you are seeking seed funding or a larger investment.

Making the Most of Time in Austin

There are many additional resources to take advantage of in Austin beyond connecting with the WorkSpaces team. Make sure to attend networking events geared to Austin’s health entrepreneurs. The monthly Learning Series hosted by the Texas Health CoLab offers classes, seminars and immersive workshops taught by a diverse range of professionals with various perspectives on challenges in health care innovation. Expert speakers have included Dell Med Chief Information Officer Aaron Miri, Texas health entrepreneurs and investors Emma Cartmell and John Paulos and many more. Posts covering previous Learning Series events are on the Dell Med blog, and recordings of the seminars are on Vimeo.

Around the community, Capital City Innovation is a strong partner in building the health innovation community and hosts a few events throughout the year. It provides updates and a list of events across the region. The Texas Medical Device Alliance meets once quarterly to discuss topics of interest to entrepreneurs and small companies with medical devices. The event always has room for ample networking.

In our experience, the most successful ABHI Innovation hub members take a bold, proactive approach and immerse themselves in the ecosystem. We look forward to participating in your journey into the U.S. market.

Verena Kallhoff, Manager, WorkSpaces @ Texas Health CoLab, Dell Medical School

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