How corporates and start-ups can benefit more from their digital health collaborations
Report by Darren Peters
Why do big established corporate players bother to collaborate with tiny healthcare start-ups?
The answer is often that the newcomers have a fresher, nimbler mindset that isn’t hidebound by corporate groupthink. This zingier approach can produce genuinely innovative thinking. The established player brings to the party its clout, networks and resources which the smaller partner lacks. Together they are better placed to crack today’s testing healthcare challenges. We know that many heavyweights in the market value this synergy. Together the partners are developing advanced technological solutions to save people’s lives. So:
− Are the health titans getting the best out of their links with start-ups and creating real business value, or is it all just PR hype?
− Can both parties be open with each other, share clear joint targets, speak to each other honestly, and signal their plans from the start?
Sad to say, as many as 57% of the healthcare start-ups surveyed in the report “Being Better Partners”, couldn’t forge a successful partnership with the heavy-hitters. Why?
Report highlights 1
Digital health start-ups perspective
The report targets start-ups to understand how well they work with corporates, and the barriers that hinder getting the best results.
Corporate’s perspective
The report opens the window to show how large companies struggle with their own hang-ups and how they wrestle with the challenges from tech-savvy start-ups, such as:
Covid-19 catalyzes collaboration
In today’s pandemic world, we have witnessed the vital importance of sustaining those partnerships. The report zeroes in on five areas where the Covid-19 pandemic will spark collaboration between start-ups and health giants, and the impact. Two examples of Covid-19 accelerators featured are:
− Increased adoption of technology: The market is embracing telemedicine and remote monitoring, demand analytics for track & trace apps, making the best use of hospital resources and circumventing supply constraints. All this inspires partnerships to try out new solutions, as potential users have seen the benefits of technology during the pandemic
− Regulatory environment evolves: Regulators have fast-tracked approval loops to tackle shortages of medical equipment and vaccines. There is also speedier approval of digital applications prescribed by doctors and reimbursed by payers. Start-up/corporate collaboration will gain from more streamlined regulation – enticing more health techs to the industry as time-to-market is trimmed.
How to improve the relationship
How can healthcare managers persuade start-ups to work with them over the long term, bringing benefits for both sides and a shared competitive advantage?
Discover how to get the best out of these partnerships. Learn how to accelerate disruptive and purposeful innovation. The report suggests recommendations for partnerships that seek innovative answers which can improve people’s lives.
To learn more please connect with Darren Peters on LinkedIn or email, with the subject “Being Better Partners’ for a copy of the report.
1 The ‘Barriers’ used builds on a previous paper published, by Nesta, entitled Scaling Together
