On Wednesday, June 1, a group of Boston business backers announced a new venture fund for Massachusetts digital healthcare startups. The Massachusetts Innovation Catalyst Fund, totaling $25.8 million in assets, will support any stage venture and is accompanied by a new incubator space near Fenway Park.
Both are affiliated with the digital health initiative backed by the state, MassChallenge, city of Boston, Massachusetts Competitive Partnership and various other stakeholders.
According to Xconomy, the fund is dedicated to digital health companies either headquartered or with a heavy presence in Massachusetts. The Boston Globe reported that its investors include various partners, like such as Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ Jeff Leiden, Putnam Investments’ Bob Reynolds, Liberty Mutual’s David Long, Suffolk Construction’s John Fish and Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan. Additionally, some local companies, such as athenahealth and Kraft Group, also invested in the fund. It will be managed by an affiliate of Leerink Partners, the Boston-based healthcare and life sciences-focused investment bank.
On top of the fund, digital health startups with strong state ties could have access to a new, 8,000-square-foot innovation lab inside coworking space Hatch Fenway. The accelerator program, which will host about 30 startups in each cohort for more than four months, will be managed by MassChallenge and be called Pulse@MassChallenge.
