Healthcare Innovation Matters at Kellogg
The following article was originally sourced from the piece “Minding Matter,” published on Kellogg’s News & Events site.
By the end of the year at the Kellogg School of Business, a currently empty room at the Merchandise Mart will house a health-tech incubator bringing entrepreneurs and medical innovators to the same table. MATTER, a hub designed to help entrepreneurs turn innovations into products is unlike startup incubator 1871 down the hall in that it focuses on one industry – health technology.
The not-for-profit is trying to bring innovation to a growing Chicago health sector. In fact, according to Pritzker Group Senior Vice President Steven Collens, Chicago is the third-largest health care economy in the country and a place with a dynamic, growing startup community. Only one thing is missing.
“What we don’t have is something that really connects all the pieces to support entrepreneurs,” Collens said.
The core idea behind MATTER is to catalyze new and productive interactions between researchers, entrepreneurs, established companies, providers, payers, investors and others in the health sector. Andrew Cittadine, president and CEO of Chicago-based Diagnostic Photonics, David Schonthal, Kellogg Clinical Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation and venture capitalists Caralynn Nowinski and Michael Liang came up with idea for MATTER over Mexican food in 2011. The minds saw that with labs, hospitals and universities throughout the region, Chicago has a huge crop of potential, if inexperienced, health tech innovators could come together and work.
“It’s a young community. It’s one where there aren’t many entrepreneurs and the culture is somewhat nascent,” Cittadine said.
Ultimately, the resources and experience of large corporations will be key in getting these products to market, Schonthal said. He said they’re eyeing Chicago-area health care companies like Abbott Laboratories, Baxter International and Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., but they want to go national.
“We would love to get companies like Johnson & Johnson, Amgen, GE and others around the country to get involved and hang a shingle at MATTER,” Schonthal said.
About the Author
Max Pulcini
Max Pulcini is a Philadelphia-based writer and reporter. He has an affinity for Philly sports teams, Super Smash Bros. and cured meats and cheeses. Max has written for Philadelphia-based publications such as Spirit News, Philadelphia City Paper, and Billy Penn, as well as national news outlets like The Daily Beast.
