BE Health, a hospital venture capital and accelerator, is entering the Japanese market. The company aims to connect biomedical startups with the market needs in Taiwan and Japan. Through this connection, BE Health is building an international MedTech startup-supporting ecosystem to expand the business opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region.
It is not easy for biomedical startups to establish relationships with hospitals. Thus, biomedical startups trudging through forming partnerships compares to the other industries.
The medical field, closely linked to human life, operates under stringent regulations and complex industry standards, making caution and multi-level validation a norm within the medical field. Many believe that obtaining regulatory approval for new drugs and innovative medical devices is the most challenging hurdle, such as gaining certification from the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) of the United States. However, those familiar with the biomedical industry know that identifying whether a startup idea addresses an "Unmet Clinical Need" is much more critical and significantly requires substantial effort. At least medical institutions and physicians should recognize this startup idea as an issue. On the other hand, if a startup cannot access validation sites, even substantial funding may be insufficient. Biomedical innovation also has a unique characteristic of variability in clinical applications. Different doctors may have different approaches, leading to scenarios where one physician struggles with an issue that another handles effortlessly.
No matter which country, biomedical startups face an uphill battle from the outset.
Biomedical startups have a set of challenges, including proof of concept, product testing, and regulatory reviews after overcoming initial hurdles. The fledgling startups have few resources and time to navigate these obstacles. Thus, the United States can dominate biomedical innovation because of its well-developed medical history and abundant resources. Though the Asian-Pacific region nurtures many biotech talents, it still faces significant challenges in promoting biomedical startups due to its fragmented markets, complex cultural differences, and regulatory discrepancies across countries.
Hospital-Supported Venture Capital Increases Success Rates for Biotech Startups
Biomedical accelerators are created precisely for this purpose.
This approach takes inspiration from the United States, where the Mayo Clinic, a top hospital, established its venture capital department as early as 1968. The department aimed to shorten the lengthy process from problem identification and solution discovery to validation and commercialization in frontline medical settings.
BE Health Accelerator is rooted in Taiwan and has spent six to seven years forging collaborations with Taipei Medical University (TMU), Show Chwan Health Care System, and Kaohsiung Medical University (KMU). BE Health establishes its venture capital fund and integrates resources by forming a biomedical startup-supporting ecosystem: Venture Captials + Accelerators + Hospitals. With this ecosystem, BE Health supports over 140 Taiwan and overseas biotech startups and directly invests in nearly 30 teams. This approach has reduced the commercialization progress from 7-8 years to 3-5 years.
Arthur Chen, Founder & Managing Partner at BE Health, emphasized "Medical devices only sell if doctors are willing to use them," highlighting the critical factor for success.
The most fundamental economic theory is supply and demand. As biomedical science is a highly specialized and often inaccessible field to the general public, early validation is the shortest path to determining demand. BE Health provides opportunities for startups and doctors to work together clinically through its collaboration with Taipei Medical University, Show Chwan Health Care System, and Kaohsiung Medical University. This collaboration quickly allows startup teams to connect with key persons in their respective fields and obtain firsthand confirmation of whether their medical devices meet the needs of doctors.Point Robotics MedTech Inc. focuses on minimally invasive medical equipment development. Once Point Robotics leveraged BE Health's accelerator program to connect with Jacques Marescaux, a renowned French surgeon known for his innovative surgical techniques and methods with IRCAD Taiwan Show Chwan Asian Institute of TeleSurgery. This connection facilitated discussions on medical concepts and initiated subsequent clinical trials at IRCAD Taiwan.
Taiwan is ideally suited for developing biomedical products, particularly for early validation of medical devices. Four key advantages of Taiwan help startups overcome various obstacles and achieve commercialization and market integration more quickly.
- High Density of Multidisciplinary Talent:
Taiwan boasts a wealth of talent in technology and healthcare, making cross-disciplinary collaboration easier. "We have a rich concentration of resources in a small area, not just in healthcare but also in hardware, software, and engineering," said Arthur Chen.
- Comprehensive Supply Chain:
"From Keelung to Wugu, you can find all the suppliers you need in just one day," Chen noted, highlighting Taiwan's complete supply chain that allows companies to quickly and easily find production partners.
- Extensive Medical Database:
Benefiting from Taiwan's National Health Insurance system, which features a single-payer format, Taiwan can compile and standardize medical data, addressing the challenge of data accessibility.
- Entrepreneurial DNA:
Chen humorously remarked on the strong entrepreneurial spirit of the Taiwanese people. Despite being a small island, Taiwan is a treasure trove of talent, resources, and innovation.
Any startups that complete initial product validation in Taiwan must move towards the international market due to Taiwan's limited population. In the transition to the global market, BE Health plays a crucial role. "We position ourselves as the 'Gateway to Asia,' leading teams onto the international stage to gain global recognition," stated Arthur Chen, Founder & Managing Partner at BE Health.
Chen has identified Japan as the first target market. Japan is the world's fourth-largest economy and has a population of 125 million. These characteristics make Japan represent a significant challenge in the Asia-Pacific region. If a startup can successfully navigate the Japanese market imply the startup is capable of further expanding into European and American markets.
The Japanese biomedical market is ranked third globally and shares institutional compatibility with Taiwan through historical ties. "Japanese built National Taiwan University Hospital," Chen noted, emphasizing the shared medical education heritage. This foundation facilitates familiarity and cooperation between medical professionals in both regions.
The well-connected relationships in traditional medical practices can hardly transition to the innovative startup era. It requires time for innovation to take root in the Japanese conservative and hierarchical medical system with its cultural norms. BE Health supports Taiwanese biomedical startups in navigating these cultural shocks during their market entry into Japan. For instance, resource-stapped startups often feel frustrated about the hierarchical reporting structure in Japan's medical system that demands consensus-building at every level before escalating issues to the final decision maker.
To address these challenges, BE Health has designed mentorship programs to help startups accommodate local customs and integrate smoothly into the Japanese market. "The initial goal of establishing the accelerator was to identify promising international teams and bring advanced medical technologies to Japan. In that case, we can expand business opportunities within Japan's vast domestic market," explained Chen.
Beyond cultural integration, the ultimate challenge for biomedical startups is achieving the "Gold Standard." "Attaining the Gold Standard is vital," Chen emphasized. The people in the medical field must meticulously follow the standard procedures because it is associated with human lives. Each medical startup must overcome critical and daunting tasks to gain professional recognition and sufficient validation. BE Health has extensive experience in support teams through demand validation and regulatory guidance to ensure the startups meet these rigorous standards.
BE Health Provides the Premier Biotech Startup Acceleration Ecosystem in the Asia-Pacific Market
BE Health holds a unique strategic position between Taiwan and Japan even though it is not the only biotech accelerator.
"Most accelerators do not have direct partnerships with hospitals. In this case, those accelerators must start from scratch to get the medical resources of hospitals. In contrast, our hospital venture resources extend from the medical side outward. Therefore, we can offer a head start to the startups we mentor or invest in," explained Chen. BE Health has directly collaborated with Taiwanese medical institutions. It allows BE Health to integrate into the conventional networks of the Taiwanese and Japanese medical communities and to form connections with Tohoku University Hospital, Japan's third-largest, and partnerships with the medical system of Tokyo University. This strategic positioning offers startups immediate access to the core Japanese medical market.
Arthur Chen chose a distinctive focus on biomedical venture capital six years ago when he started his business. He has the blueprint of creating a "multinational & multi-center" for the biomedical field to integrate the Asia-Pacific market.
Taiwan boasts strong capabilities in both software and hardware. Since BE Health started aligning with the Japanese market, BE Health aims to advance cross-countries clinical trials to build multinational & multi-center regulation. With this approach, advanced startups supported by BE Health can apply their results across different countries and save time and costs of redundant validations. "We hope that in the future, all of Asia, including Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, and China, can deepen the cooperation in their markets," said Chen.
Japan represents the first step in this multinational, multi-center blueprint. Thus, BE Health plans to engage in a series of events, including a business exchange with Startup Island TAIWAN in Kansai in early July, hosting a Demoday in Taiwan at the end of July, and leading the team to participate in Medical Japan Tokyo in October. Moreover, BE Health is preparing to establish a local accelerator in Japan. Arthur Chen has seen the Japanese healthcare market as robust and well-regulated with comprehensive insurance. Chen believes that biotech startups with good technology, products, and talent can leverage the transnational network resources built by BE Health. Therefore, these startups can rapidly integrate into the core markets of the Asia-Pacific biotech industry.
Japan is close to Taiwan, just a movie away from Taipei to Tokyo. At the same time, it is also distant for teams with no guidance to get into the Japanese market. BE Health serves as a bridge, embodying the essence of its Mandarin name, "比翼 (bi-yi)," linking venture capitals with startups and enabling them to fly highly together in the biomedical field.