Openness to new tech makes Israeli biotech a leader, says Philips exec

When you think of Philips, what first comes to mind is likely the Amsterdam-based multinational electronics company’s range of household products: vacuum cleaners, blenders, shavers, baby monitors and the like. But Philips is also a major player in global healthcare technology, manufacturing many of the medical devices and diagnostic machines in hospitals worldwide – from room-sized CT scanners to mobile phone-driven tele-ultrasound equipment.

A good chunk of the company’s medical hardware and software is coming from Israel. Philips employs 1,085 people in Israel, one of Philips’ five main innovation hubs along with Amsterdam, Shanghai, Bangalore, and Cambridge, Mass. Philips has been operating in Israel since 1948 and actively invests in and acquires Israeli companies. ISRAEL21c spoke to Royal Philips Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer Jeroen Tas, who will be a keynote speaker at the upcoming MIXiii-BIOMED conference in Tel Aviv next week. What makes Israel so strong in the healthcare technology space? Tas started by naming the usual Startup Nation suspects: a highly-educated population, a vibrant academic research community and active government promotion of startups. -- More...