Posted by Heidi Schwartz
Rock Health, a digital health accelerator, will base its global headquarters in Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.’s Mission Bay cluster in San Francisco, which is adjacent to UC San Francisco’s (UCSF) Mission Bay campus. With the announcement, the Mission Bay area will become an even stronger magnet for commercial entities looking to access its unparalleled scientific talent and breakthrough innovations.
“Rock Health is committed to engaging with the brightest minds in healthcare to further innovation. Our choice of Mission Bay and new partnership with Alexandria reaffirms this commitment, and will enable us to support not just our portfolio companies but also the broader startup ecosystem,” said Rock Health Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Halle Tecco. “This move will enhance our ability to collaborate with groundbreaking researchers, clinicians and corporate partners in our industry.”
“Rock Health’s move to Mission Bay comes at a critical time as San Francisco implements national healthcare reform and is striving to give residents more choices for healthier lifestyles,” said San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee. “We are partnering with innovative companies such as Rock Health to disrupt the way we do business and, at the same time, improve the healthcare industry. Rock Health’s new proximity to UCSF doctors, entrepreneurs and scientists at our small startups, pharmaceutical companies, and investors will accelerate advances in the life science, healthcare and technology industries here in San Francisco.”
Founded in 2010, Rock Health supports digital health entrepreneurs through a startup accelerator, public events and open-source research. To date, 49 startups have participated in Rock Health’s accelerator program.
“One of the lessons of modern medicine is that it cannot be done in a vacuum—it requires experts from science, technology and many health-related fields to come together to create more predictive, preventive and precise care for every patient, everywhere,” said UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann, MD, MPH. “In the last decade, Mission Bay has created an ecosystem that brings all of these elements together, with a spirit of innovation that encourages entrepreneurs to build new companies for the future. That’s the perfect atmosphere for entrepreneurs at Rock Health, and makes Rock Health a logical partner in that effort.”
“For years, Mission Bay has been at the forefront of life science innovation,” said Joel S. Marcus, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. “Now, with Rock Health’s announcement that it will establish its global headquarters in Mission Bay, this world-class ecosystem has emerged at the leading edge of the digital health revolution, as well.”
