AZ-HCIF is the first in a portfolio of endowments from across the U.S. and around the world that will be collectively grown and managed by the Healthcare Impact Foundation (HCIF).
HCIF is building a portfolio of evergreen endowments to support the commercialization of healthcare innovations as they progress from the research laboratory to the patient.
Phoenix, Arizona, January 11, 2018 — A coalition of nonprofit organizations has come together to raise a $200 million endowment to support the commercialization of life changing and lifesaving healthcare innovations that are developed by Arizona-based researchers and entrepreneurs.
The founding members of the coalition include the Arizona Bioindustry Association, Inc. (AZBio) and the Opportunity Through Entrepreneurship Foundation, Inc. (OTEF) as well as the Healthcare Impact Foundation, a Delaware 501c3 public charity based in New York.
This is the second collaboration between OTEF and AZBio. The first was the creation of D3Bio, a division of OTEF, which launched in 2014 to support life science innovation and life science innovators along the pathway from discovery to development to delivery.
The Arizona component of the Healthcare Impact Foundation (AZ-HCIF) is designed to provide sustainable funding to support the progression of Arizona-based life science discoveries along a path from development to delivery.
AZ-HCIF is the first of a portfolio of endowments from across the U.S. and around the world that will be collectively grown and managed by the Healthcare Impact Foundation a 501c3 public charity that was established in 2017
Arizona-based local trustees will serve to distribute the annual proceeds with a goal of supporting the growth of innovative early-stage healthcare companies in Arizona.
“Arizona has made great progress since the formation of our Bioscience Cluster in 1997 and the launch of the Arizona Bioscience Roadmap in 2002,” stated Joan Koerber-Walker, president & CEO of AZBio and chairman of OTEF. “By conservative estimates, over $18 billion has been invested in the bioscience and healthcare sector by public and private sources over the last two decades. We have built up our research enterprise, are launching exciting companies, and are educating the next generation of bioscience leaders. Yet, one major hurdle still must be crossed. Lack of access to early stage life science capital has plagued Arizona for two decades. It’s time to stop talking about the problem and solve it.”
Russ Yelton, CEO of Yelton & Associates, Chairman of AZBio, and a member of the board of directors of Pinnacle Transplant Technologies, is chairing the outreach committee for the AZ-HCIF capital campaign and will serve as chairman of the AZ-HCIF board of trustees.
“Great ideas can grow into great companies,” stated Yelton. “The State of Arizona did its part by raising the cap on its successful Angel Investor Tax Credit program by an additional $10 million and authorizing $2.5 million a year in tax credits for the next four years. But, angel investment alone will not get us where we need to go. Arizona needs a steady flow of early stage capital to support the life science companies being created by Arizona entrepreneurs and to honor our Angel investors for the risks they take by investing alongside them. This plan is a way for us to make it happen.”
Chuck Stetson, head of a third and fourth generation family office in New York, serves as Chairman of the Healthcare Impact Foundation and worked with Koerber-Walker to develop the HCIF concept.
“The Stetson Family Office has spent the last 18 months meeting with emerging healthcare innovation ecosystems around the US and globally,” stated Stetson. “We found that while great ideas with high impact potential were coming from emerging life science markets like Arizona, the capital streams and support ecosystems are insufficient to support efficient growth of the companies. Too much time is wasted chasing funding. This time needs to be focused on getting high quality healthcare innovations further along the path to commercialization so that traditional venture capital and public equity funding can take it the rest of the way. We were honored to work with our partners here in Arizona to develop a new and sustainable funding model to address this critical need.”
Arizona’s capital campaign for the AZ-HCIF has now launched with a goal of reaching $200 million in charitable donations by the end of 2018.
“Arizonan’s have come together to create great hospitals, research institutes, and universities,” shared Koerber-Walker. “Now is the time to complete our life science ecosystem by taking steps to create a sustained stream of early stage capital that can help ensure that life changing innovations that are discovered in Arizona, are developed in Arizona, and that their companies stay and grow in Arizona.”
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About the Healthcare Impact Foundation
Healthcare Impact Foundation (“HCIF”) was formed in 2017 as a 501c3 public charity and is dedicated to building a better private equity ecosystem for healthcare innovations and supporting the commercialization of healthcare innovations as they progress from the research laboratory to the patient.
For more information, visit https://www.healthcareimpactfdn.org
About the Opportunity Through Entrepreneurship Foundation (OTEF)
Founded in 2005, the Opportunity Through Entrepreneurship Foundation (OTEF), a 501c3 public charity, provides entrepreneurial education, mentoring and support to individuals and organizations with the goal to provide a path to economic sustainability to at-risk populations that are often forgotten or left behind. Since its inception, OTEF has worked with Arizona cities, non-profit organizations and individuals to build businesses and the entrepreneurial community. In 2014 OTEF launched D3Bio in collaboration with AZBio to support life science innovation and life science innovators along the pathway from discovery to development to delivery. D3Bio operates as a division under OTEF.
For more information, visit www.D3Bio.org
About AZBio
A key component in Arizona’s life science ecosystem, the Arizona Bioindustry Association (AZBio) is the only statewide organization exclusively focused on Arizona’s bioscience industry. AZBio membership includes patient advocacy organizations, life science innovators, educators, healthcare partners and leading business organizations. AZBio is the statewide affiliate of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and works in partnership with AdvaMed, MDMA, and PhRMA to advance innovation and to ensure that the value delivered from life-changing and life-saving innovation benefits people in Arizona and around the world.
For more information visit www.AZBio.org
Contact:
Joan Koerber-Walker, Arizona Bioindustry Association
jkw@azbio.org 480-332-9636