This week’s InnovationRx edition spotlights Summa Health’s tech initiatives, the healthcare figures on Forbes Veteran 250 list, BioMarin’s acquisition of a bone disease treatment, and more. Subscribe here to receive it in your inbox.
General Catalyst’s Hemant Taneja
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Last October, venture capital firm General Catalyst invested $485 million to purchase Summa Health, a three-hospital system serving five counties in northeast Ohio, with the aim of revolutionizing its operations through new technology.
Today, Summa Health and General Catalyst have unveiled the first set of healthcare companies collaborating with the 8,000-employee health system. These companies include Clarium, which utilizes AI to enhance hospital supply chain efficiency; voice AI firm Hippocratic AI; tech-enabled pharmacy benefit manager Judi Health; and healthcare navigation company Transcarent. All of these companies are backed by General Catalyst.
“The Amazon of healthcare isn’t a trillion-dollar company, but a trillion-dollar ecosystem,” says Hemant Taneja, CEO of General Catalyst and number 19 on this year’s Forbes Midas list. He shared this vision with Forbes.
Previously, Forbes elaborated on Taneja’s concept of integrating a healthcare system with Silicon Valley’s innovation prowess. He believed no healthcare provider would fully integrate technology and AI into their processes, so he chose to do it himself.
“Everyone will tell you how difficult it is to sell and implement at hospitals. The trick has been to ask, ‘How do we break through inertia and move quickly?'” he explains. The nine companies selected for Summa’s initial tech ecosystem are “those that deliver measurable ROI from the outset,” he notes.
Daryl Tol, acting CEO of Summa Health and CEO of HatCo, General Catalyst’s healthcare transformation firm, reports that the health system is already reaping benefits from the technology. He mentions that patients are receiving care that might have been overlooked because Hippocratic AI’s agents reached out to them.
Summa Health is not yet profitable, but its operating Ebitda is now positive on a revenue of $2.3 billion. In 2024, when Forbes first reported on General Catalyst’s plans, Summa Health was not profitable, with expected revenue of around $2 billion.
The health system has appointed a new CEO, Jennifer Eslinger, currently the chief operating officer at Rochester Regional Health. She will assume her new role in September. Tol will continue as CEO of HatCo.
The Summa Health initiative takes place as hospitals nationwide are exploring ways to integrate AI into their operations. OpenAI has made inroads into hospitals, securing agreements with eight major health systems as part of its larger foray into healthcare. Meanwhile, Khosla Ventures and Cleveland Clinic have teamed up to test new AI, digital health, and next-generation therapeutics technologies from Khosla’s portfolio companies. Health systems clearly need innovation, but integrating fragmented technology into existing systems has proven challenging.
Taneja suggests that part of Summa’s success lies in its collaboration with Percepta, a company created and owned by General Catalyst to focus on AI modernization. Percepta’s CEO, Hirsh Jain, previously spent seven years at Palantir leading the healthcare and civilian government business.
“My hope is that once we demonstrate this is feasible, and it’s not as dangerous, risky, or costly as people think, others will follow,” Taneja says. “If we are going to fail, we should fail for the right reasons, not due to inertia.”
Healthcare Leaders On The Veteran 250 List
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In celebration of America’s 250th birthday, Forbes has released the Veteran 250 list, honoring the most accomplished Americans who have served in the military. Among the prominent healthcare entrepreneurs and researchers featured are:
Thomas Frist Jr.: After serving as a flight surgeon during Vietnam, Frist co-founded Hospital Corporation of America, now one of the largest healthcare providers in the U.S. HCA has employed over 65,000 veterans and their family members. Frist Jr. and his family have a net worth of $32.9 billion.
Louis Argenta: A veteran of the Navy Medical Corps, Argenta co-invented vacuum-assisted closure, a wound healing device used on more than 20 million patients since its market introduction in 1995.
Alan Miller: Miller, who served in the U.S. Army, founded Universal Health Services in 1979, and his success helped him achieve a net worth of $1.7 billion.
Patricia Horoho: The first woman to lead the U.S. Army Medical Command, this lieutenant general retired in 2016 after 34 years of service. She transitioned to the private sector, ultimately becoming the founding CEO of Optum Serve, the federal health services subsidiary of UnitedHealth.
Daniel Brillman and Taylor Justice: These veterans co-founded the healthtech unicorn Unite Us, which develops software enabling healthcare providers and social services to collaborate on patient care, preventing deterioration of health conditions. Brillman is currently director of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
For the full list, see here.
Deal Of The Week
BioMarin, a biotech company valued at $13 billion, is acquiring an early-stage bone disease therapy from Alesta Therapeutics for $275 million upfront, with potential milestone payments reaching up to $125 million. This acquisition positions BioMarin, based in San Rafael, California, to potentially rival AstraZeneca in the rare bone disease market. Though structured as an acquisition, Alesta intends to spin out all other assets before the deal is finalized.
What We’re Reading
President Trump is set to nominate Heidi Overton, a top domestic policy aide, vocal opponent of abortion rights, and supporter of RFK Jr.’s MAHA movement, to lead the FDA.
Moderna’s stock is experiencing a surge following positive clinical trial results from a melanoma cancer vaccine.
Federal and state authorities are investigating Epic’s alleged anti-competitive practices.
The FDA is contemplating evaluating AI-enabled medical devices using a “competency-based approach” similar to how doctors are assessed.
Exploring how a nursing home dedicated to patients with ALS and multiple sclerosis ensures high-quality care.
Costco is preparing to enter the Medicare market with Costco-branded Medicare Advantage plans in two states and a Medicare supplement in a third, in collaboration with nonprofit insurer SCAN Group.
The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is now the deadliest recorded, with 2,325 lives lost and a case fatality rate of 46%.
A look at how an obscure budget rule threatens Medicaid coverage.
A third patient has died in one of China’s so-called investigator-initiated trials, a common method for testing experimental drugs quickly and inexpensively without regulatory oversight.
