Founded in 2015 by Chicago Booth alum Jennifer Fried, MBA’15, and former University of Chicago faculty member Alex Langerman, Explorer Surgical also announced in October that it has been acquired by Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX).
The company aims to help the health care ecosystem to move faster, operate more intelligently, and achieve greater outcomes.
“There is no better place to start and build a company than at The University of Chicago,” said Fried. “The University’s interdisciplinary approach to innovation is the single reason that Explorer exists today. The University has supported us in every step of our journey, from our initial research funding to direct investments into every financing round,” she added.
Also bringing together world-class expertise from Chicago Booth and cutting-edge research from UChicago Medicine, NowPow in September was acquired by Unite Us, the nation’s leading technology company connecting health and social care services.
Founded by Stacy Lindau—the Catherine Lindsay Dobson Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Professor of Medicine-Geriatrics at the University of Chicago—and Rachel Kohler, MBA’89, NowPow is a referral platform grounded in science and community.
The Chicago-based company combined with Unite Us will create the nation’s leading integrated health and social care network connecting people to these resources. “We both hope that this success signals to other faculty entrepreneurs that putting your company headquarters on the South Side of Chicago is a pathway to success, and we hope others will follow suit,” said Lindau, speaking to the acquisition.
‘We are incredibly proud’
“This series of exits signals to the world the extraordinary work being done at the University of Chicago and the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in moving groundbreaking work from bench to bedside—benefitting humankind,” noted Jay Schrankler, associate vice president and head of the Polsky Center.
“As startups are acquired or have an IPO, it is inspiring to know the work continues to serve an even larger population in need of new solutions, medical treatments, and other innovations that are changing the way we live,” added Schrankler. “We are incredibly proud of all our faculty and students, and the time they commit to bettering the world.”
According to the Association of University Technology Managers’ most recent Annual Licensing Activity Survey, which polls US universities, hospitals and other research institutions, the Bayh-Dole Act has spurred nearly 300 new drugs and discoveries that have driven the innovation economy—contributing $1.7 trillion to the US gross industrial output and adding more than 5.9 million jobs.
“Our business development and licensing associates, and the Polsky Center as a whole, are dedicated to supporting faculty entrepreneurs as they look to take their innovation beyond the four walls of academia. It is the public that will ultimately benefit from these innovations,” said Bill Payne, executive director of science and technology at the Polsky Center. “To have a series of three exits and several new startups founded this past year means we are on the right path to translating the hard work of this University to society at large.”
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