Johnson & Johnson’s New Innovation Hub Is Advancing Health Tech

The future of healthcare is set to be replete with technology, from artificial intelligence (AI) to smart health devices and mobile wellness management. Johnson & Johnson is at the forefront of developments, and, as it opens its brand-new innovation hub in Manhattan, NYC, the multinational medical devices and pharmaceutical company is ready to bring medicine and technology together in ever-more innovative ways.

JLABS is the name Johnson & Johnson gives to its own brand of innovation centre. Where many companies would be happy with just one such lab, Johnson & Johnson has no fewer than twelve, including the new Manhattan hub. With a global footprint of centres spanning the US, Canada, Europe, and the Far East, Johnson & Johnson is making sure it travels the length and breadth of the planet to tap into the best creative minds on offer.

JLABS@NYC

The Big Apple is home to one of the largest bioscience workforces in the United States and plays host to no fewer than nine major academic medical centres. However, because property in the city costs so much, it can be difficult for independent scientists to gather the resources to turn their ideas into real products.

The new JLABS@NYC will house 30 brand-new healthcare startups and provide the resources and support they need to start creating exciting new products.

"Johnson & Johnson has deep entrepreneurial roots in New York and we are pleased to see our unique JLABS model applied in this rich ecosystem to foster the creation of new healthcare innovations that have the potential to change the trajectory of health for humanity," said Vice Chair of the Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer at Johnson & Johnson, Paul Stoffels, M.D. "Expanding our JLABS network to NYC will link entrepreneurs around the region with Johnson & Johnson Innovation experts, allowing some of the brightest minds in healthcare to work collaboratively in a shared space."

Connected Healthcare

One of the key areas the JLABS@NYC facility will be focussing on is concerned with incorporating digital technology into the healthcare environment. With the city administration committed to providing $500 million to the life sciences sector over the next decade, New York is set to become even more of a technological hotbed than it presently is.

In preparation for this, JLABS@NYC has begun a health tech program with a big focus on using mobile and wearable technology to help patients monitor their health and to facilitate more effective aftercare. Other innovations include a device which has the potential to promote bone growth through digital impulses rather than a surgical procedure, and implants which are designed to detect slight changes in physiology which could give unprecedented advanced warning of the onset of conditions such as Alzheimer’s, or even cancer.

3D printed body parts are revolutionising medical supply chains and the way care is delivered to those who need it. Instead of matching pre-sized prosthetics to people the same way they buy shoes, bespoke parts can be printed for each patient, to ensure the maximum level of comfort and fitting. These parts can be “delivered” to even remote hospitals on a per-patient basis. All based on innovations which started in JLABS facilities.

JLABS has also empowered startups such as IntuiTap. The company is headed by 26-year-old Jessica Traver, who, after witnessing multiple surgeons attempt to perform the painful lumbar puncture procedure, was looking for a way to improve the way spinal taps are administered. Her invention was an improved needle guidance system which uses spinal imaging and analytics to improve the accuracy of punctures.

These are just a few of the amazing innovations which have come out of JLABS facilities.

"JLABS provides innovators the environment they need to deliver life-enhancing, life-saving solutions to the people who need them,” said Global Head of JLABS at Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Melinda Richter. “By opening vital industry connections, entrepreneurial programs and a capital-efficient, flexible platform to help alleviate the cost burden that typically slows or kills innovation, we know NYC will light up our world."

Final Thoughts

Digital technology has the potential to change the way we diagnose, treat, and eliminate illness and injury, and companies such as Johnson & Johnson have the resources and infrastructure to help bring the future to the present day.

With more JLABS centres opening around the globe, they are providing a home for the greatest thinkers and innovators the world has to offer and giving them all the tools they need to get their brilliant ideas out of their notebooks and into reality.