ANDHealth News

The recognition is for ANDHealth’s flagship program ANDHealth+, which has been incubating and accelerating Australia’s highest potential digital and connected health startups for eight years and is funded by the Australian Government through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).

ANDHealth+ leverages ANDHealth’s innovative “harness the collective” model, which brings together a multi-sectoral, multi-disciplinary partner network from across industry and academia, to provide the highly specialised support and insights digital health innovators need to commercialise their technologies, faster and more effectively, on a global scale.  

ANDHealth Founder and CEO Bronwyn Le Grice said being awarded silver recognised a model that was designed from the ground up to counter the narrative that Australia was great at research and development but poor at commercialisation.

“ANDHealth is an organisation predicated on the philosophy that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and this award is recognition of the contribution of our team, but also all of the partner organisations, advisors, government agencies, suppliers and startups that have participated in our journey,” Ms Le Grice said.

Digital health is currently the fastest growing sector within health, growing at a 23% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), in comparison to the more mature pharmaceutical (6.1%) and medical devices (6.9%) markets.

ANDHealth was established to accelerate the commercialisation and uptake of the next generation of digital and connected health technologies throughout Australia and into global markets. By bringing together national and international capabilities into one non-profit organisation, ANDHealth is able to act as a multiplier of innovation and commercialisation for hundreds of companies per year.

“As a fast growing but still rapidly evolving sector, digital health poses different commercialisation challenges to more established health technology sectors, especially in the regulated parts of the sector,” Ms Le Grice said.

“Clinical development, commercial validation, regulation and reimbursement strategies are highly specialised and are still evolving, especially in the field of AI in health. This requires diverse skill sets, some of which are not readily available here in Australia. By leveraging a non-profit model, we bring this invaluable knowledge to Australian startups at no cost to the startups who participate.”

Through the ANDHealth+ program, companies receive tailored project support, access to ANDHealth’s network of international digital health industry leaders, and up to $5 million in milestone-based, non-dilutive funding per company over an 18-month, two-stage program, without taking any equity in the business.

ANDHealth+ has supported 28 alumni companies that have collectively raised more than $211 million in follow-on funding, generated more than $97 million in new revenue, created over 550 new jobs, undertaken 50 international market launches and reached more than 4.7 million patients with more than 80% now generating revenue. Since 2021, 100% of ANDHealth+ companies have gone on to secure follow-on funding after participating in the program, placing it among the highest-performing accelerators globally.

“ANDHealth’s role is to help innovators address and overcome barriers to commercialisation and build sustainable businesses, while ensuring more Australian-developed digital health technologies reach the patients, clinicians and health systems that need them,” Ms Le Grice said.

The national AFR recognition follows the nomination of ANDHealth+ as one of 11 nominees worldwide in the Best Incubators, Accelerators and Equity category of the 2026 Prix Galien USA Awards, widely regarded as the life sciences equivalent of the Nobel Prize. ANDHealth was also named a top 10 finalist in the 2023 Australian Financial Review’s BOSS Most Innovative Companies Awards.

ANDHealth is the first Australian commercialisation organisation to be nominated for a Prix Galien USA Award, alongside global institutions including Mayo Clinic, and winners will be announced in New York City on 29 October 2026.

The AFR Most Innovative Companies Awards recognise organisations across Australia that demonstrate a sustained, strategic approach to innovation and create meaningful value in their industries. The medical category was won by Qubigen for its federated AI engines for drug discovery with EMVision Medical Devices receiving bronze for its backpack-sized brain scanner designed to rapidly identify stroke/TBI.

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