Two Philly companies are joining an accelerator inside the ‘largest medical complex in the world’

At over 2.1 square miles, the Texas Medical Center (TMC) in Houston boasts of being the largest medical district on the planet.

With 9,200 hospital beds and over 106,000 employees, the center is also a hub for innovation in the Lone Star state, with its TMC Innovation Institute running a yearly accelerator for companies in the healthcare space.

On Monday, when 21 digital health companies from six countries kick off its eighth TMCx accelerator cohort, two of them will be flying the Philly flag: on-demand healthcare transportation platform Roundtrip and precision medicine company Oncora Medical.

As part of the program, participants will spend a six-week “immersion experience” at the medical center, and will have access to resources, advisors, potential investors and clients. No equity stake is taken in the firms in exchange for their participation.

“With 10 million patient encounters per year, TMC will be a fundamentally important partner for our growth strategy in 2019,” said Roundtrip CEO Mark Switaj in an email. “This accelerator will give us the latitude to explore how our technology interacts with different facets of the healthcare ecosystem.”

Oncora Medical already had a full-time staffer in Houston as part of its work with the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Lindsay said the programming will let the Philadelphia-based company further connect with the Houston ecosystem.

“Oncora is excited to be a part of the Texas Medical Center’s accelerator,” said Oncora Medical founder and CEO David Lindsay. “TMCx will give us the opportunity to engage with additional excellent health systems and corporate partners in the Houston area.