Healthcare Innovation Profiling for Israel, 2018 - 2023

Key Factors Contributing to Digital Health Innovation

This report aims to highlight the potential of Israel in becoming one of the leading centres for digital health innovation, globally. The report also presents some of the innovative startups working in the digital health space, as an example of the country’s potential.

Research Scope

The healthcare industry is attracting investment in many forms due to its ever-flourishing nature. Healthcare products and services will always be in demand and their need will continue to rise under the influence of demographic trends (like population ageing), epidemiological trends (rising incidence and complexity of chronic and infectious diseases), and economic trends (like growing middle class with higher knowledge, awareness, and affordability for high quality care). At the same time, healthcare spending needs to be optimized and quality of and access to care needs to be improved across many countries. To match future healthcare industry paradigms, innovation in healthcare is a necessity. Whether it is in the field of precision medicine, robotics, communication technologies, payment models, or care delivery services, healthcare startups, as well as innovation centres within established healthcare companies, are hard at work.

Several countries are setting up healthcare innovation hubs where diverse industry stakeholders can come together and create service ecosystems and marketplaces that allow the development of innovative start-ups. Healthcare innovation hubs focus on specific industry issues or sectors which are currently underserved but are likely to generate high revenue and employment if various industry participants (healthcare providers, payers, pharmaceuticals, medical technology vendors, start-ups, investors, universities and R&D centres) are given the opportunity to collaborate and create viable business models. On the surface, industry participants are encouraged to set up base in these innovation hubs through tax benefits and government-funded rewards. However, the advantages offered by innovation hubs do not end there. The most important contribution of an innovation hub is the pooling of skilled professionals that can positively contribute to industry development. In addition, governments also invest in developing peripheral infrastructure, such as roads, affordable housing, internet connectivity, utilities, and transportation in healthcare innovation hubs to further develop the ecosystem.

The author analysed one of the most prominent emerging healthcare innovation centre - Israel. The base year for the study is 2018 and 2019 to 2023 is the forecast period. Israel was one of the earliest destinations for multinational technology giants like Apple and IBM for their R&D centres owing to the high quality and volume of engineering talent available in the country. The study provides key market drivers, trends, and challenges impacting the overall dynamics. It also provides an overview of the favorable government policies and ecosystem support, which has proved Israel to be a suitable location to set up R&D centres for healthcare businesses. Companies can use this location to develop their own innovations, partner with local Israeli companies to acquire new technologies and leverage this presence to consider expansion of specific solutions in the United States and Europe.

Key Issues Addressed

• What are the elements available in Israel’s ecosystem that are driving innovation to make it a competitive destination as a healthcare innovation hub?
• What are some of the existing examples of digital health startups and established healthcare companies in the region?
• What are the key innovation areas expected to propel the next stage of evolution in the digital health and healthcare delivery in the Israeli market?
• Why is Israel a preferred destination for research units of major corporations and emerging startups?