McKesson to invest in healthcare startups
SAN FRANCISCO — McKesson on Wednesday announced that it has launched McKesson Ventures, a strategic venture capital fund, to invest in early and growth stage companies addressing both current and emerging business challenges facing the healthcare industry. Industry veteran Tom Rodgers has joined McKesson Ventures as managing director and leads the fund’s investment portfolio.
“McKesson Ventures will help us support the development and commercialization of innovations taking place across healthcare,” said John Hammergren, chairman and CEO, McKesson. “By investing and partnering with entrepreneurs and other investors that can bring new approaches to the challenges our customers are facing, we will accelerate the innovation cycle and further strengthen the value we provide to industry stakeholders across all segments.”
McKesson Ventures is actively making minority investments in companies that span a broad section of healthcare. The fund is focused on helping build businesses that are driving towards a stronger, more sustainable future for healthcare and will target companies that are both enabling and benefitting from the disruptive changes affecting the industry. These changes include increasing consumerism, emergence of alternate delivery models and the shift towards value based reimbursement models. These target companies will predominantly be pursuing high growth opportunities adjacent to or outside McKesson’s current business.
Tom Rodgers joins McKesson Ventures from Cambia Health, where he led their venture investing efforts targeting companies that are helping to lower cost, improve access and improve the navigability and sustainability of the healthcare system for providers, employers and consumers. Prior to Cambia, Rodgers was a partner at Advanced Technology Ventures, where he led efforts in healthcare technology. He is returning to McKesson, after more than a decade in the venture industry, where he previously served as VP corporate strategy and business development. Rodgers holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School and a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.