The Portland Trust and MEDX Xelerator launch northern branch for local medtech innovation

June 1, 2022

MEDX Xelerator’s newly-established incubator branch in the Sakhnin Valley will help spur more startups in the health and medical sectors, and boost healthcare services and the economy.

The MEDX Xelerator has partnered with the Portland Trust to launch an incubator branch in the Sakhnin Valley region in northern Israel. The branch is now accepting applications from top talent in the Galilee and northern Arab and Jewish regions, who possess pioneering ideas on how to fill clinically unmet needs. The program aims to boost the number of medtech startups in the region.
In addition to funding, entrepreneurs will also benefit from the support services provided by the MEDX Xelerator program. These include professional mentorship, market analysis, intellectual property protection processes as well as a non-dilutive investment from the Israel Innovation Authority.

Right to left: Aiman Sayf, Partner at The Portland Trust, Shai Policker, MEDX Xelerator CEO,
Safwat Abu Raya, Mayor of Sakhnin, Bassam Sayed Ahmed, The Portland Trust. (Portland Trust )

The Portland Trust is a non-profit ‘action tank’ with offices in London, Ramallah, and Tel Aviv. Established in 2003 by Sir Ronald Cohen and Sir Harry Solomon, its mission is to promote peace and stability in the area through economic development. TPT Tel-Aviv is focused on enhancing economic opportunities for Arab and Haredi societies and other periphery communities. MEDX Xelerator is a leading medical device and digital health-focused incubator operating under the auspices of the Israel Innovation Authority, whose partners include Boston Scientific, Sheba Medical Center, MEDX Venture Group, Consensus Business Group (CBG) and West Pharmaceuticals.

Managing Director at the Tel Aviv office of The Portland Trust Rami Schwartz said: “Our goal is to take the best of the innovative ideas of the talented medical entrepreneurs in the Galilee and commercialize them into medical technology and biotechnology companies that can help improve healthcare. Like all initiatives of The Portland Trust, the Sakhnin Valley Branch of MEDX Xelerator is meant to boost and support local entrepreneurs, to create high quality job opportunities for area residents, and attract established companies to invest in and expand to the region. We hope to create a tangible working entity that will make a positive difference.”
“Unlike most high-tech areas, medical technology requires a multi-disciplinary team and a variety of talents from both engineering and the life sciences,” said MEDX Xelerator CEO Shai Policker. “This opens the door to more diversity. We’ve always known there is a great deal of talent in the northern part of Israel, and the time has come to transform this into products and companies.”

Published May 24 2022, by CTEC