New Jersey, Rowan University launch strategic innovation center to boost medtech innovation in South Jersey

New Jersey and Rowan University launch strategic innovation center for medical devices: ©Janews094 - stock.adobe.com

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) and Rowan University will partner to launch a new multi-location Strategic Innovation Center (SIC), designed to accelerate medical technology innovation in South Jersey.

Operated by global innovation platform Plug and Play, the SIC will focus on the research, development, and commercialization of novel medical devices and technologies. It will serve as a hub for early stage medtech startups, drawing from local research institutions while attracting companies from across the region.

“Due to the ingenuity of its entrepreneurs and its breadth of state resources to promote startup growth, New Jersey has long been a hub for innovation in medical technology,” said Gov. Phil Murphy. “Through robust investment in our innovation economy and partnerships with storied medical and academic institutions, New Jersey is poised to maintain its leadership in the research and development of inventive healthcare technologies.”

Cooper University Health Care will serve as the SIC’s anchor commercial affiliate, and Garden State Venture Partners (GSVP) will invest in select accelerator companies. Pending board approval, NJEDA will invest $9.55 million into the SIC, including $5.5 million toward a seed and early-stage fund for participating companies.

The SIC will span 8,500 square feet across two Camden sites—the Joint Health Sciences Center and the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University—and include additional facilities at Rowan’s West Campus in Mullica Hill. That site will eventually include the Shreiber School of Veterinary Medicine and the Virtua Health College Research Center.

Rowan University, one of the fastest-growing public research institutions in the U.S., will contribute research expertise and academic resources through its medical and veterinary schools.

“Nothing like the SIC exists to draw investments of this type to New Jersey,” said Rowan President Ali A. Houshmand. “The SIC will add value to strong partnerships like those we have throughout the state with health care leaders.”

GSVP will invest up to $7 million in seed and later-stage funding for select companies in the accelerator. “We are building a powerful platform to accelerate breakthroughs in health care and medical technologies,” said Michael Connallon, managing partner at GSVP.

Plug and Play will oversee two accelerator cohorts annually, each with at least 25 companies. The firm also operates the NJ FAST fintech accelerator in Hoboken.

“This Strategic Innovation Center reflects our belief that meaningful progress happens when startups, health care leaders, academia, and the public sector come together with a shared mission,” said Plug and Play Chief Revenue Officer Michael Olmstead.

Anthony J. Mazzarelli, co-CEO of Cooper University Health Care, said the center’s innovations will lead to both job creation and life-saving technologies. “Supporting innovations and business creation that work to improve lives is a major focus of the work of Cooper’s Innovation Center,” he said.

Twenty percent of accelerator participants must be New Jersey-based, with the remainder drawn from out-of-state companies encouraged to relocate with support from NJEDA programs like NJ Accelerate.