Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 13 goals of achieving cost savings while improving productivity, the company said. Clarium says health systems using Astra OS have identified an average of more than $10 million in cost savings and productivity gains in their supply-chain operations. Angelini said Astra OS addressed a pain point for YNHH. "It's really better at managing inventories, and that became glaringly obvious that was a pain point during COVID." Another startup investment addressing a pain point is RxLight- ning, Angelini said. The company has developed a platform that simplifies, stream- lines and automates the process for prescribing and managing specialty medications. "Essentially that means, for patients, helping them understand what drugs are available for their needs, and then helping health systems understand that as well," Angelini said. Game-changer For Hartford HealthCare, Stein said investing in startups can have positive results financially, while also helping fill a need. He cited a company called Axuall, which HHC has an equity stake in, that has created a system for creden- tialing and onboarding physicians and other newly hired medical staff. "To onboard a physician takes six to nine months at best, … and for them to be credentialed with every payer in your system takes forever," Stein said. Auxall's system reduced the onboarding process to two weeks, he said. Another example Stein cited is a company called Medeloop, for which HHC is a limited partner. Medeloop has created an AI-driven platform to help accelerate medical research. "You've got multiple grant writers who go and look for potential funding for the research," he said. "It's a difficult process because it's all over the place. Then you've got to write the grants, which takes months. This technology … learns about the research you're doing, then goes out to the rest of the world and finds the appropriate, relevant funding sources and then writes the grants for you." That's a game-changer for smaller health research institutions that can't afford a large grant-writing staff, he said, adding it also fits in well with HHC's new Center for AI Innovation in Healthcare. "We are directly investing (in Mede- loop) because we believe in them," Stein said, "and we're getting equity in validating the thesis that if it works in an environment like Hartford HealthCare, it can work in an environ- ment anywhere in the world." Risky investments Both Stein and Angelini acknowl- edge that investing in or partnering with startups involves significant risk, which is one reason their organiza- tions are limiting these types of bets. "These are risky investments, right?" Angelini said. "They're early- stage companies. And if you talk to any venture capitalists … they'll tell you one in 25 investments, or some- where there abouts, is going to make it. And so, in order for you to have a success, you've got to make 25 of these investments, and you shouldn't expect a whole lot of them to make it to the next level." The other issue is that such investments take time to blossom, he added. "A number of these companies won't really know if they've been successful until year six or seven," Angelini said. "You know that is part of it. But for us, we do see some growth in valuations of these compa- nies that we're partnering with, and so that's part of the equation." S M A L L B U S I N E S S Holiday Parties Join us for the best holiday celebration in Connecticut! Each luxurious, fun-filled evening includes: · Three delicious entrée choices · Top-shelf open bar all evening · Four-course dinner · DJ & dancing R E S E R V E Y O U R T A B L E S T O D A Y 7 nights to choose from • For groups of 8+ (860) 621-9335 • www.aquaturfclub.com/holidays CT INNOVATIONS FY 2024 INVESTMENTS Source: CT Innovations TOTAL $49M 29% 20% 18% 22% 10% HEALTH CARE $14M CLIMATE TECH $10M TECHNOLOGY $9M CONSUMER $11M VENTURE FUNDS $5M

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