The Atlanta-Israel connection

Atlanta’s global health care technology business continues to strive thanks to this thriving relationship.

Tom Glaser

February 1, 2008

A global health care technology business is burgeoning in Atlanta, made possible in part through some perhaps unexpected partnerships with – and investments from – companies half a world away.

The global economy and daily direct Delta flights between Atlanta and Tel Aviv have made it possible and profitable for local companies to establish business relationships with Israeli companies in the health care technology field, and for Israeli companies to make their U.S. homes here.

What makes these partnerships work? On one side is an Israeli life science industry that is young, growing and exuberant. Of some 745 companies, 75 percent were founded during the past decade, about 40 percent in the past five years. Every year, 50 to 60 new companies are launched. 

The Israelis have focused on unique opportunities around major diseases for which existing therapies are largely ineffective. These include treatments for cardiovascular and peripheral vascular disease, oncology, neurodegenerative disease, and other age-related diseases such as ophthalmic and orthopedic.

The challenge is that while many Israeli companies have created extremely innovative technologies and services, Israel is not a large enough market to sustain them. They also find it challenging to navigate the U.S. market on their own.

Over the years, the American Israel Chamber of Commerce (AICC) has provided commercial and financial strategic advisory support to several Israeli life science companies, with a focus on pharmaceuticals and medical devices. 

So how does an Atlanta company make an Israeli connection? One way is through organizations like the Atlanta-based AICC, which assists qualified Israeli companies in making introductions and contacts to potential strategic and clinical partners in the Southeast. The chamber, working with organizational partners such as Georgia Bio, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Department of Economic Development, forms screening teams to review and analyze their offerings, coordinates their Atlanta visits, and facilitates presentations to key decision makers in Atlanta and the Southeast.

Over the past few years, many Atlanta-Israel life science relationships have emerged:

•    Yokneam, Israel-based Given Imaging pioneered the field of Capsule Endoscopy through its PillCam™, a “camera-in-a-pill” technology allowing physicians to visualize and diagnose diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. AICC has been involved with Given Imaging since the company’s founding and helped the company establish its U.S. headquarters in Atlanta. 

•    With its U.S. headquarters in Norcross, Mazor Surgical Technologies was a pioneer in the development of miniature semi-robotic positioning systems for a wide range of orthopedic surgical procedures. 

•    Through the introduction of AICC, Alpharetta-based McKesson Information Solutions acquired Israel-based Medcon in August 2005 for $105 million. Medcon had developed a Web-based cardiac image and information management system that improves workflow productivity, enables informed clinical decision-making, and facilitates access to comprehensive electronic health records.

•    Clarkston-based Life Therapeutics partnered with Israel-based Tel Aviv-based GammaCan, to develop VitiGam, an innovative treatment for skin melanoma.  Life is a global market leader in the collection and supply of hyperimmune plasma and highly specific diagnostic tests for blood-borne diseases and blood-clotting disorders. 

Several opportunities this year will offer Atlanta companies an opportunity to build connections with Israeli companies:

•    On February 22, AICC will partner with Georgia Bio (formerly the Georgia Biomedical Partnership) to offer an interactive videoconference (via Atlanta and Tel Aviv) on new cardiology technologies from Israel and the southeast.

•    The U.S. TeleHealth Business Exchange matches a select, prescreened group of Israel companies with U.S. companies. In less than 24 hours, hundreds of one-on-one meetings will allow new business relationships to develop.

Tom Glaser is president of the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce, southeast region