– XLerateHealth (XLH) has been awarded a total of $1.7M in grants to continue building the XLerator Network and support academic healthcare innovation across the Southeast.
– The continuation of the grant secures a second year of funding for XLH and its partners to build on foundational assessment and planning work completed in year one.
XLerateHealth (XLH), a Louisville, KY-based healthcare accelerator has been awarded grants totaling $1.7M to continue building the XLerator Network and support healthcare innovation in under-resourced states. The XLerator Network is one of four Institutional Development Award (IDeA) State region “hubs” supported by the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. The STTR program funds research and development partnerships between small businesses and academic institutions.
Accelerating Healthcare Innovation in Under-Resourced States
Founded in 2013, XLerateHealth (XLH) aims to cultivate and grow impactful healthcare innovation in the Midwest, Southeast, and other areas of the country where great innovation often goes unrecognized and underfunded. XLH supports the development of healthcare innovation through the XLH Accelerator, an early-stage healthcare accelerator that helps start-ups commercialize their business and attract funding, and the XLerator Network, a partnership with 24 academic institutions to support R&D development in the NIH’s Southeast Institutional Development Award (IDeA) states. In January of 2019, the accelerator program expanded to Flint, Michigan.
Grant Funding Details
The grants consist of $1.48M in Phase II funding, plus an Administrative Supplement of $250,000, from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant, managed by the National Institutes of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), is a part of funding expected to total more than $3.6M for XLH and its partners through 2021. XLH’s partners on this grant include 24 Academic Institutions with the University of Kentucky serving as the Academic Lead.
In addition, the Administrative Supplement of $250,000 will fund creation of the “Ideas to Products” (I2P) program, which will support faculty, students, and researchers in the XLerator Network with competitive funding that will help them ready their technologies for commercialization.
Grant Secures Second Year of Funding for XLH
The continuation of the grant secures a second year of funding for XLH and its partners to build on foundational assessment and planning work completed in year one. Phase II funds will be allocated to building the architecture and functionality of various tools, curricula and resources, including an assessment tool that will provide a personalized roadmap for researchers, faculty, and students to learn how to take their innovations from the lab to market.
Scientific Advisory Committee and External Advisory Committee Launch
XLH has also launched a Scientific Advisory Committee and External Advisory Committee consisting of leaders across the healthcare ecosystem nationally, from pharmaceutical and medical device companies to investors, academia, and serial entrepreneurs. The committees will provide hands-on support for companies developing out of affiliated Southeastern IDeA universities.
