Stories

The first 10 startup companies at Matter, a health-tech incubator set to open in the Merchandise Mart early next year, include a specialty pharmaceutical company, a creator of a blood-sampling system and a company that integrates robotics with heart procedures.

CEO Steve Collens said the incubator chose potentially successful companies, announced Tuesday, that together establish a broad repres…

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If you’re hip in Chicago, you’ve probably heard of 1871, the entrepreneurial space for digital startups. What you might not be aware of yet is MATTER, an emerging incubator built solely for healthcare technology startups. Like 1871, it calls the Merchandise Mart its home, and it opens in early 2015. As a healthcare startup, we’re excited to have all of Chicago’s greatest minds in health innovat…

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Governor Pat Quinn, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, ChicagoNEXT Chairman J.B. Pritzker and the founders of MATTER, the new entrepreneurship hub for next-generation health IT, medical device and biopharma companies, today announced MATTER’s executive leadership team and opened applications for prospective members.

Steven Collens was named MATTER chief executive officer and Patrick Flavin was named executiv…

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Pritzker Group Senior Vice President Steven Collens was named chief executive of the nascent MATTER health care entrepreneurship hub on Tuesday.

According to the Mayor’s Office, Collens previously “spearheaded development and launch” of the 1871 technology incubator. Prior to joining the Pritzker Group, Collens spent 10 years with North Chicago-based pharmaceutical and medical device giant Abb…

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Adam Piotrowski got stuck when he tried to start a medical device company here three years ago.

“I knew Chicago was a great place to start a business, but it was hard to find a place to be based where I could develop and set up prototypes, work with a variety of resources nearby and get in touch with all of the people I needed to,” the Oak Park native said. “I had to find my own office space, …

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