AHN, Highmark Health Cut Ribbon to Innovation Hub at Former Suburban Hospital Campus in Bellevue

State-of-the-art Facility to Support Recently Launched AHN & Innovation Works Health Care and Life Sciences Accelerator – AlphaLab Health  

Pittsburgh, PA – Representatives of Highmark Health, Allegheny Health Network (AHN) and Innovation Works today joined community leaders in Bellevue to celebrate the grand opening of a state-of-the-art research facility based at the former AGH Suburban Hospital that will serve as an innovation hub for AlphaLab Health, a health care and life sciences accelerator launched by AHN and Innovation works in 2020.

Modeled after Innovation Works’ other successful accelerator programs, AlphaLab and AlphaLab Gear,

AlphaLab Health cultivates promising medical technologies and other health solutions, offering start-up companies early-stage funding, mentorship opportunities from industry experts, clinical resources, and office and lab space. The collaboration is also supported by Pittsburgh-area universities, corporations, and foundations.

AHN is part of one of the nation’s largest integrated health and wellness organizations, while Innovation Works is one of the nation’s most active seed-stage investors.

The AlphaLab Health accelerator at AGH’s Suburban Campus is a 10,000-square-foot open-concept space fully equipped with advanced technologies and facilities, including wet and dry labs. The space also includes offices outfitted with dedicated server access that can be configured to a business’s needs and highly reliable and secure hardline connectivity, two conferencing rooms and three larger collaboration areas. The physical renovation of the space was made possible in large part by a $500K Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

“While AHN has long been a leader in clinical research and innovation, AlphaLab Health is a transformative partnership that takes our commitment to an entirely new level and further elevates the Pittsburgh region’s profile as a wellspring of pioneering, game-changing ideas and solutions in health care,” said Jeff Cohen, MD, AHN’s Chief Physician Executive for Community Health and Innovation. “With the opening of this new facility, we now have an amazing space that appropriately complements the ingenuity and vision of the entrepreneurs we are supporting.”  

The investment and repurposing of AGH’s Suburban Campus also breathes new life into a community asset that has served the community in a variety of capacities for more than 115 years.  In 2010, the hospital’s inpatient units and emergency department closed, and a private nursing facility on the campus closed in June 2019. AGH Suburban’s urgent care center and several outpatient clinics continue to operate on the campus.

“Bellevue and its surrounding neighborhoods are very important to our organization,” said Cynthia Hundorfean, AHN President and CEO. “The opportunity to have this campus serve as a nexus of innovation and breakthroughs in medicine for future generations is something we were very excited to embrace. In the coming months, we look forward to announcing even more unique AHN health and wellness initiatives and programs that will be headquartered at this site.”

Twelve startup companies have already joined AlphaLab Health. Some of the remarkable projects underway include:

·       Developing pharmaceutical products for the treatment of life-threatening symptoms associated with Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS), an overreaction of the immune system causing systemic inflammation. – CytoAgents

·       Developed securement devices that prevent damage and dislodgement of central lines and and dislodgement and  feeding tubes. -GusGear

·       Designing a consumer-facing medical vaporizer that automatically and gradually reduces nicotine intake over time, helping people achieve their smoking cessation goals. – Hale Therapeutics

·       Developing an app that can give users a detailed lung performance report by simply speaking into a smartphone – turning smartphones into powerful remote respiratory monitoring tools and preventing unneeded hospitalizations and emergency department visits. – Telling.AI

Entrepreneurs participating in AlphaLab Health have access to the business expertise and mentorship network of Innovation Works, as well as up to $100,000 in seed investment. Selected from more than 200 applicants, the first two cohorts range from first-time inventors to experienced entrepreneurs and represent a variety of medical product categories including diagnostics, therapeutics, medical devices, and health information technology.  

“AHN is uniquely positioned to serves as a clinical environment for piloting new technologies or concepts that are developed by participating companies, acting as a living commercialization lab for translational, “bench-to-bedside” research, Dr. Cohen said.   

“AlphaLab Health has shown we can accelerate companies’ development. This new space takes the accelerator to the next level, enabling startups to conduct cutting-edge research, work collaboratively, and learn from experts in the clinical and business worlds, all in a welcoming space that facilitates engagement,” said Megan Shaw, Managing Director of Life Sciences at Innovation Works.

To date, thirteen companies across two cohorts have participated in AlphaLab Health.

Cohort 1

CytoAgents

Emergence Dental

Gus Gear

JuneBrain, Inc

sovaSage

Spintellx

Sterile Vision

Cohort 2

MindTrace

Parcel Health

Hale Therapeutics

Telling.ai

Naima Health

Spoken