Texas Medical Center Innovation Institute kicks off third accelerator program

More than 11 medical device startups will head to Texas for the third installment of TMCx, an accelerator program that helps startups partner with industry experts that can help turn entrepreneur’s device concepts into reality.

The Texas Medical Center Innovation Institute is a 15-week program in Houston that lets startups collaborate with top industry and business experts, physicians and scientists, and stakeholders.

Startups attending the program this year include Bloom Labs, a New York-based company that creates credit-card sized rescue inhalers, San Francisco-based Blumio, which creates a sensor to measure blood pressure continuously, and WeaRobot, a Mexico-based company that has developed a concept for an active exoskeleton for seniors and the physically impaired. For a complete list of startups attending the program, click here.

"Very few accelerators have a robust program devoted to medical device startups, so we are filling a huge gap in the life sciences ecosystem," said Erik Halvorsen, PhD, director of the TMC Innovation Institute, in a statement. "Now we are the only accelerator in the country that runs alternating curriculum tracks on med devices and digital health, which will bolster our efforts to attract top talent in health care innovation."

The startups will be guided through areas like intellectual property, product development, regulatory strategies, health policy, marketing, fundraising, contract negotiations and communications. The program runs through November, at which point the companies will make a final pitch to advisors, hospital stakeholders and investors.

Applications for next year’s program will begin being accepted Aug. 17.