New Initiative to Raise $500 Million for Israeli Medical Tech

A new philanthropic fund, the Israel National Biotech Innovation Center (INBI), aims to raise $500 million to foster the development of drugs and medical devices in Israel. The initiative stems from over 100 meetings involving leading figures in Israeli and US biotechnology, who sought to identify and remove barriers within the local industry. The fund will focus on commercializing technologies from Israeli universities and will operate proactively to identify promising projects.

INBI will bridge the gap between academic research and commercial viability by establishing startups and licensing technologies to pharmaceutical companies. The center will leverage its network of experts to connect these ventures with global leaders for guidance, funding, and partnerships. Samuel Moed, former senior executive at Bristol Myers Squibb, will chair the fund, with Dr. Anat Cohen-Dayag, former CEO of Compugen, serving as its CEO.

Fifteen academic institutions, including the Weizmann Institute, Hebrew University, Tel Aviv University, and Technion, along with major healthcare providers like Clalit and Maccabi health funds and hospitals such as Sheba and Ichilov, have joined as partners. Moed highlighted that while Israeli academia has immense potential, it is currently underutilized, and a stronger, sustainable partnership with the US is needed.

The fund plans to announce its first selected companies within a year. While philanthropy will form the initial base, INBI is also in discussions with Israeli government ministries for potential complementary funding. Moed expressed confidence that successful early results will attract private investment into the startups.