A major pharmaceutical company and a leading medical center’s innovation division have joined forces in a partnership aimed at advancing healthcare technology and helping startups reach international markets.
Late last month, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and ARC Innovation, the worldwide innovation division of Sheba Medical Center, finalized an agreement to work together on innovation projects, medical research, and digital health initiatives. The partnership is intended to support local startups in expanding internationally, speed up healthcare innovation, and enhance patient care.
According to Igal Gurevich, head of strategic partnerships and corporate affairs for Teva, both organizations share a common goal of improving patient outcomes. He told The Media Line that if artificial intelligence or other technologies can enhance medication adherence or other care aspects, it benefits both entities. “This should significantly accelerate the adoption of new technologies,” he stated. “And ultimately everything comes back to the patient.”
Gurevich further explained the mutual benefits: “Teva benefits because patients use medications more effectively. Sheba benefits because patients receive better care. The startup benefits too. But most importantly, the patient benefits. Technology can improve the effectiveness of both hospital treatment and pharmaceutical treatment.”
Angela Rabinovich, ARC’s chief business officer, shared comparable views. Speaking to The Media Line, she described the partnership as “about bringing together two organizations with a global innovation mindset and a shared drive to change healthcare. ARC and Teva each bring different strengths, and the structured model we’ve built allows us to create something bigger than the sum of its parts.”
The partnership gained traction after both entities received grants from the Israel Innovation Authority in December to create pilot locations for Israeli technology companies. Moving forward, the two organizations plan to collaborate on joint projects involving open innovation, research and development partnerships, and initiatives throughout the healthcare value chain.
“The idea is that we’re opening the doors of both Teva and ARC to Israeli startups so they can validate technologies that are relevant to our organizations,” Gurevich explained.
ARC has previously launched and invested in over 100 healthcare startups and currently functions in 10 countries globally through partnerships with major hospitals and medical centers.
The collaboration also supports Teva Rise, Teva’s new worldwide open innovation platform created to utilize emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, Industry 4.0 smart manufacturing, digital health, and biotechnology, by linking startups and advanced technology companies with Teva’s business divisions.
“We each identify challenges and tell startups, ‘If you have an interesting technological solution, whether AI-based or not, we’d like to hear from you.’ We can then work together on projects,” Gurevich noted.
Under the agreement, a joint steering committee has been formed and will convene quarterly to assess potential projects. The organizations have also established working groups to advance these initiatives.
To date, Teva and ARC have identified three main collaboration areas.
The first involves working with startups. If a startup contacts Teva, for instance, the company can now provide broader opportunities beyond access to the pharmaceutical industry. While Teva operates throughout the entire value chain, from research and development to manufacturing and logistics, Gurevich said startups will now also gain access to Sheba Medical Center.
“A startup can potentially test and deploy its technology at Teva sites in Israel and around the world, as well as at Sheba,” he said. “The same works in reverse. Startups coming through Sheba can be referred to Teva.”
The second area involves clinical research and development collaboration. Teva develops medications, conducts molecular searches, and performs research. Technology can make these processes faster and more efficient. ARC has researchers, physicians, and laboratories, creating opportunities for collaboration between two major research and development entities through joint studies, experiments, and innovation projects.
The third area concentrates on logistics and operations. Here, Gurevich said, the organizations encounter many similar challenges. For instance, Teva may be working to solve a problem related to cold-chain storage and transportation of medications, while hospitals face comparable challenges in moving those medications from the warehouse to the patient.
“At Teva, through Teva Rise, we appointed about 60 innovation leaders around the world,” Gurevich said. “They identify challenges that, if solved, could shorten drug-development timelines, improve manufacturing processes, improve supply chains and logistics, increase patient adherence and compliance, or advance personalized medicine. ARC has a similar process. Then we compare notes and look for overlaps.” He noted that working groups meet to review challenges and identify where collaboration makes sense.
Sometimes, he said, Teva has a challenge that ARC’s researchers or startups may be able to solve, and vice versa.
Teva and ARC did not apply for the Innovation Authority grants together. Neither organization knew the other was applying. But after the authority announced the awards, discussions accelerated, both sides said.
“I actually give a lot of credit to the Innovation Authority,” Gurevich commented. “Through one government program, they unintentionally connected two major organizations.”
Few organizations in Israel are both deeply rooted in the country and globally successful. Teva and Sheba are both well-established in Israel and abroad. Gurevich said that when two organizations like that collaborate, it matters.
“The startup ecosystem isn’t interested only in Israel,” Gurevich explained. “It wants to expand globally. We’re serving as enablers. We’re giving startups access not only to two major institutions in Israel but also, through us, to opportunities around the world.”
The Innovation Authority program runs through the end of 2028. Each organization funds its own activities, and no specific budget was set for the partnership itself. Gurevich said budgets will be determined on a project-by-project basis. Some projects may cost tens of thousands of dollars. Others could cost millions.
“Together, we’re building a comprehensive platform that connects both worlds in a way neither could achieve alone,” Rabinovich concluded.
