Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/646815
t m c » p u l s e | m a r c h 2 0 1 6 5 TMCx Goes Digital Propelled by last year's successes and a redefined curriculum, the Texas Medical Center welcomes 12 companies specializing in digital health to the second class of its TMCx accelerator program B y A l e x O r l a n d o E arlier this year, a steady stream of medical entrepreneurs from near and far walked through the tiered, lumi- nescent hallway—known informally as the "innovation portal"—into their new workspace. As they unpacked luggage, juggled parking passes and ID badges, scribbled notes on personalized white- boards at their workstations and darted back and forth between orientation ses- sions, these eager entrepreneurs got a taste of the controlled chaos that would define the next five months. Twelve companies specializing in digital health were welcomed as the second class of TMCx—the Texas Medical Center's accelerator program that acts as a gateway to the facilities, resources and network of the world's largest medical center. "Essentially, we're here to leverage our network and the organizations that are part of the Texas Medical Center, for the benefit of these entrepreneurs," said Erik M. Halvorsen, Ph.D., the new director of the TMC Innovation Institute. "These companies have access to the largest collection of top physicians, scientists and business expertise that exists on a single cam- pus—one which serves over 7.2 million patients each year. If you combine that with the sheer volume of data By putting the focus on digital health, we're hoping to enable fortuitous collisions between the companies that lead to collaborations and increased acceleration. — ERIK M. HALVORSEN, PH.D. Director of the TMC Innovation Institute that flows through our network— as well as the breadth and diversity of these different organizations— it can be a huge asset for digital health innovation." TWELVE COMPANIES WERE SELECTED FROM A POOL OF OVER 100 APPLICANTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SECOND CLASS OF TMCx, THE ACCELERATOR PROGRAM THAT SERVES AS A CORE COMPONENT OF THE TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER INNOVATION INSTITUTE. The second year of the TMCx program marks a notable change: each class will focus on a specialized subset of health care innovation, with two classes participating each year.