First-ever Chicago-Israel Health Tech Summit opens door to U.S. market for 20 of Israel’s most promising health tech startups

Mayor Rahm Emanuel opens three-day summit featuring leaders from Chicago-area health systems and 20 of Israel’s most promising health tech startups

Chicago, IL, October 30, 2018 — Today, MATTER welcomes twenty of Israel’s most innovative health tech startups and healthcare leaders to the Chicago-Israel Health Tech Innovation Summit, hosted in partnership with the Center for Digital Innovation (CDI), Allscripts and Sheba Medical Center. During this three-day summit, the startups will learn, network and collaborate with executives from top institutions across Chicago’s healthcare ecosystem.

The summit is the result of an evolving, year-long relationship between Chicago’s and Israel’s health tech communities to accelerate the commercialization of new technologies that will benefit patients. MATTER and Sheba Medical Center, the most comprehensive medical center in the Middle East, signed a Memorandum of Understanding last October to foster collaboration between the two health tech innovation communities and partnered with CDI, a leading healthcare innovation center to connect their startups community with MATTER’s network.

This agreement followed a delegation of 40 business, civic and academic leaders — including MATTER CEO Steven Collens and led by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and World Business Chicago — that traveled to Israel to promote innovation and investment in Chicago.

“Chicago’s booming tech entrepreneurship is turning innovation into more jobs and more opportunity for our residents,” Mayor Emanuel said. “These partnerships will support new health solutions, improve lives and strengthen economic development here at home, in Israel and beyond.”

Last April, MATTER led another delegation of Chicago-area companies to Tel-Aviv to participate in the CDI Digital Health conference, also hosted in partnership with Allscripts and Sheba Medical Center. Since then, five Israeli startups have joined MATTER.

“Israel has one of the world’s most vibrant communities of healthcare entrepreneurs — and most of them look to the United States to commercialize their technologies,” MATTER CEO Steven Collens said. “MATTER is the ideal launching point for them to enter the U.S., given our network, educational resources and community.”

In addition to one-on-one meetings between Israeli health tech entrepreneurs and Chicago executives, the summit includes a number of workshops focused on the healthcare industry in the U.S. The summit will also feature presentations by leaders from Amita, Northwell Health, Northwestern Medicine, OSF HealthCare, and UI Health.

“Delivering change in healthcare isn’t about growing a single idea — it’s about creating an environment that will yield many changes to come,” said Lital Shnaiderman, director of digital health at CDI. “Through our work with MATTER, we’ve realized that Chicago can be the perfect environment for Israeli startups to launch in the U.S.”

“We are excited to be featured at the Chicago-Israel Health Tech Innovation Summit,” said Dr. Eyal Zimlichman, deputy director general, chief medical officer and chief innovation officer at Sheba Medical Center. “Collaboration is a crucial part of innovation, and this summit is an example of how Sheba and MATTER are working together closely to bring dynamic healthcare startups to market.”

“Allscripts is thrilled to support the growing economic relationship between Chicago and Israel,” said Wendy Roberts, vice president of strategic partnerships at Allscripts. “We’ve partnered with both MATTER in Chicago and CDI in Israel for years to help bring innovative healthcare technology solutions to market faster. It’s exciting to see these relationships converge with the shared mission of advancing technology solutions for U.S. healthcare providers.”

Select programs are open to the public, including two panel discussions with CMOs, CMIOs and CIOs from leading health systems, as well as a keynote with Dr. Michael Oppenheim, vice president and chief medical information officer at Northwell Health. Learn more and RSVP here.

About MATTER
At MATTER, we believe collaboration is the best way to improve healthcare. The MATTER collaborative includes 200 cutting-edge startups from around the world, working together with hospitals and health systems, universities and industry-leading companies to build the future of healthcare. Together we are accelerating innovation, advancing care and improving lives. For more information, visit matter.health and follow @MATTERhealth.

About CDI
Center for Digital Innovation (CDI) is a leading-edge, novel, non-profit innovation center in Israel created through the collaborative efforts of some of Israel’s most outstanding entrepreneurs and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

About Sheba Medical Center
Sheba Medical Center is a university-affiliated tertiary referral hospital that serves as Israel’s national medical center in many fields. Adjacent to Tel Aviv, it is the most comprehensive medical center in the Middle East, renowned for its compassionate care and leading-edge medicine. It is also a major medical-scientific research powerhouse that collaborates internationally with the bio-tech and pharmaceutical industries to develop new drugs, treatments and technologies, and a foremost global center for medical education.

About Allscripts
Allscripts (NASDAQ:MDRX) is a leader in healthcare information technology solutions that advance clinical, financial and operational results. Our innovative solutions connect people, places and data across an Open, Connected Community of Health™. Connectivity empowers caregivers and consumers to make better decisions, delivering better care for healthier populations. To learn more, visit allscripts.com, Twitter, YouTube and It Takes A Community: The Allscripts Blog.