Health2047, a technology innovation enterprise focused on revamping healthcare, announced today a $27.2 million follow-on investment from the American Medical Association (AMA), its founding partner, and a slew of new hires spearheaded by the recent appointment of a new CEO.
According to a statement, the funding will go toward the development and commercialization of “promising new technology-based solutions in the areas of chronic disease reduction, radical productivity change, and value-based healthcare.” The group demonstrated this aim not too long ago when it pushed its first spin-out company, the blockchain-based, data liquidity-focused Akiri, out the door with a $10 million investment.
“Improving the health of the nation is at the core of the AMA's work and the innovation that Health2047 is leading can address some of the greatest challenges in health care today,” AMA CEO and Health2047 Board Chair James L. Madara said in a statement. “Our mutual goal is to improve both care delivery and health outcomes to benefit the nation’s physicians and their patients and we’re excited to provide expansion capital for Health2047’s development and commercialization efforts.”
Leading these efforts since October has been Lawrence K. Cohen, the innovation enterprise’s newly appointed CEO. Cohen previously served as CEO of VIA Pharmaceuticals (which was acquired by Madrigal Pharmaceutical in 2011) and, more recently, held a position as EVP of business development at Kadmon Holdings. He replaced Doug Given as Health2047’s CEO.
“This new investment will help us create much-needed changes in the US healthcare system,” Cohen said in a statement. “Our growing team collaborates closely with both the physician community and technology leaders to tackle key problem areas. We will deploy this new investment to broaden our network of strategic partners and accelerate the pace at which we are able to develop and spin out new businesses in our four areas of focus.”
Also included in the statement were announcements that the company has moved its headquarters to Menlo Park, California, and that it had appointed four additional names to management. These include: Gary Cookhorn, former managing director of Fortress Investment Group, as CFO; Daphne Li, former director of strategy at Apple, as a managing director; Piers Nash, former IBM Global Solutions Consultant in genomics and healthcare, as a managing director; and Lúcia Soares, former VP of health technology program strategy and delivery at Johnson & Johnson, as a managing director.
