- American Heart Association Ventures invests in MDisrupt
- Lisa Suennen, Managing Partner of American Heart Association Ventures and longtime healthcare veteran, joins the MDisrupt board
- MDisrupt’s marketplace will be made available to thousands of the American Heart Association’s professional members
- The American Heart Association and MDisrupt collaborate to expand the AI-Powered Health Expert Marketplace
AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — MDisrupt, the premier expert marketplace for the health tech and life sciences industries, today announced it has received a milestone-based $1 million investment from American Heart Association Ventures, the newly established venture arm that leads and coordinates the Association’s venture capital investments. In addition, the American Heart Association entered into a services agreement with MDisrupt.
The investment will support expanded adoption of MDisrupt’s recently launched Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Powered Health Expert Marketplace. The marketplace is designed to meet the growing demand by small and large companies for fast and reliable access to vetted clinical, commercial, and scientific experts to advise around designing, building, commercializing, and scaling healthcare products and services.
In addition, MDisrupt will add new features to the marketplace platform through a strategic collaboration with the Association to meet the needs of its members, providing new ways for them to engage with the health technology, health services, medical device and life sciences sectors. This collaboration will enable members to advance the Association’s mission of spreading evidence-based, high-quality scientific expertise across the healthcare ecosystem.
“Healthcare experts are the catalysts behind scalable, science-based innovation. This strategic investment from American Heart Association Ventures accelerates our mission to provide health care and life sciences companies with unparalleled access to top clinicians and scientists, including those specializing in cardiovascular and brain health,” said Ruby Gadelrab, Founder and CEO of MDisrupt. “Our collaboration with the Association will create valuable opportunities for thousands of members to engage with industry, apply their expertise in new roles, and shape the future of healthcare technology.”
Healthcare industry veteran Lisa Suennen, Managing Partner of American Heart Association Ventures, also joined MDisrupt’s Board of Directors, bringing decades of leadership experience and a proven track record in health innovation to support MDisrupt’s continued growth.
“We are excited about this relationship because it allows us to bring even more value to the American Heart Association members and to further disseminate our members’ impressive knowledge to advance solutions that are scientifically validated, evidence-based and essential for the healthcare industry,” Suennen said. “We are thrilled to make this strategic investment in MDisrupt and to have this opportunity to support our members and the healthcare and life sciences marketplace by matching needs with expertise in a way that benefits all. Through this collaboration, MDisrupt will help give Association members a unique opportunity to shape the next generation of healthcare solutions.”
American Heart Association Ventures is an investment platform that leads and coordinates the venture capital programs of the Association, building upon the overall mission by funding programs that ensure the translation of high quality, evidence-based science, research and clinical know-how into actionable, meaningful, equitable and sustainable positive impact for patients and the health care system.
Suennen added, “The collaboration with MDisrupt will help us deliver on our mission to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. Building on more than 100 years of trusted leadership in cardiovascular and brain health, the American Heart Association is focused on driving breakthroughs and helping advance proven solutions that advance health and hope for everyone, everywhere.”
Healthcare Experts – the Critical Factor for Success in New Healthcare Products and Services
While health tech, tech-enabled services, medical devices and life sciences are abundant with innovation, the path to success is challenging. For instance, in the United States, 75 percent of medical device start-ups fail, and 98 percent of digital health startups don’t survive. The landscape for connected devices and apps is similarly daunting, with an astonishing 350,000 health apps available and more than 90,000 released in 2020 alone – yet about 53 percent are uninstalled within 30 days. Early-stage healthcare companies frequently falter because they lack clinical, regulatory, and commercialization expertise; they also face significant post-market hurdles such as recalls, reimbursement challenges, or poor market performance.
“Too many promising companies struggle not due to a lack of innovation but because they can’t access deeply specialized healthcare expertise when it’s needed most. Whether it’s navigating complex regulations, generating evidence, commercialization, or engaging with payers and health systems, the nuanced, healthcare-specific guidance we provide through MDisrupt is critical. Unlike general expert platforms, we focus exclusively on every aspect of health care, offering vetted, curated experts who can accelerate a company’s path to market. Our marketplace delivers the right expertise at the right time, empowering companies to move faster and more responsibly,” said Gadelrab.
The MDisrupt marketplace currently provides access to more than 2,500 vetted experts who worked at established healthcare enterprises, such as Blue Cross Blue Shield, Walgreens, CVS, Willis Towers Watson, U.S. FDA, Optum, Humana, Kaiser, Cleveland Clinic, and more.
MDisrupt’s AI-Powered Health Expert Marketplace connects health tech and life sciences companies, as well as venture and private equity funds, with vetted experts whose skills are highly specific and nuanced to meet healthcare’s unique challenges. The platform’s precision matching ensures that companies find the exact experts they need, whether for clinical, commercial, regulatory or reimbursement expertise. Companies can engage these experts in various ways, from hourly consultations and advisory boards to fractional, part-time, or full-time roles, ensuring flexibility and tailored expertise for every stage of their growth.
MDisrupt was founded by Gadelrab, a seasoned health tech executive who has successfully commercialized healthcare and life sciences, served on the executive team at 23andMe, and advised many leading companies in the biotech and genetics sectors. MDisrupt has raised $6.6 million to date, including its most recent $3 million in seed funding. Notable investors include The Venture Collective, Capita3, The Good Science Fund, Zane Venture Fund, Growth Factory, Susan Solinsky, Matthew Holt, and other strategic investors and industry leaders in the healthcare and technology sectors.
About MDisrupt
MDisrupt is the premier expert marketplace for the health tech and life sciences industry, connecting companies with over 2,500 top-tier professionals, including clinicians, health system executives, and payor leaders. The company’s AI-powered platform streamlines access to essential expertise, enabling rapid product development and validation. By uniting the best minds in healthcare, MDisrupt ensures that health innovations are built on a foundation of clinical rigor and are ready for market success acceleration. For more information, visit www.mdisrupt.com, and follow on LinkedIn.
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