Investing in solutions for healthcare challenges – UCI Health
December 16, 2021
UCI Health, Orange County’s academic health system, and UC Investments, the Office of the Chief Investment Officer of the Regents of the University of California, today jointly announced the launch of a $50 million fund to invest in healthcare innovation and digital health aimed at revolutionizing patient care and public health.
The fund — the first such partnership between the university’s healthcare and investment enterprises — seeks to leverage the expertise and experience of UCI Health with the financial strength of the University of California (UC) system of 10 top-ranked campuses and five groundbreaking medical centers.
“Southern California is a hotbed of innovation in healthcare technology and services,” said UCI Health Chief Executive Officer Chad T. Lefteris. “Expanding patient access to care in novel ways and better managing chronic conditions are among the most pressing challenges facing the healthcare industry. Now is the time for UCI Health to also invest in the intellectual capital that will solve tomorrow’s problems.”
“We are delighted to partner with UCI Health at this critical juncture for the future of healthcare innovation and digital health,” said Chief Investment Officer Jagdeep Singh Bachher, who manages the University of California’s $168 billion in investment assets. “This is a vibrant and growing investment opportunity set, which the pandemic has certainly shown us. The expert and experienced team at UCI Health is uniquely placed to take full advantage of the exciting transformations taking place at the intersection of technology and patient care.”
The UCI Health Innovation Fund will invest in digital and other health technologies and healthcare services that will reimagine patient care and experience, make it more personal and accessible, and learn from the pandemic’s impact on healthcare delivery.
“This UCI Health initiative reflects the value of a world-class public research institution engaged with one of the country’s most entrepreneurial regions” said UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman. “This new effort builds upon UCI’s unprecedented investments to empower our region’s next-generation innovation economy and will advance the development of technology-driven solutions for tomorrow’s healthcare challenges today.”
UC Investments, which has already invested more than $10 billion in healthcare innovation nationally and throughout the world, is committed to further cementing its relationships within the UC healthcare enterprise.
“This partnership between UCI Health and UC Investments is the right move at the right time,” said UC Regent Richard Sherman, chair of the Investments Committee. “I’m hopeful that our investment will accelerate even more discovery, improve healthcare and generate returns for the UC system. I see this as an important model for the future of collaboration between strategic partners within the university that take advantage of the …….