For immediate release: August 3, 2007
GALVESTON, Texas - A partnership between the University of Texas Medical Branch and Houston-based private equity group Sanders Morris Harris today launched NuPhysicia LLC, a Galveston-based startup company to commercialize and expand telemedicine services for corporate and government customers across the U.S. and abroad. UTMB has been an international leader in telemedicine for two decades.
Dr. Glenn Hammack will direct operations for NuPhysicia, which will offer telemedicine products and services throughout the U.S. and worldwide. UTMB physicians Oscar Boultinghouse and Michael J.Davis will also serve as senior leadership of NuPhysicia.
"NuPhysicia will take UTMB's recognized telemedicine brand into new markets," Hammack said. "Our unique competence in building working telemedicine programs has generated significant interest around the world."
Dr. James Arie, Assistant Vice-President of UTMB's Center for Technology Development, says partnering with regional investors to fund startups and structuring these innovative transactions reaffirm UTMB's commitment to technology transfer and economic development.
"NuPhysicia is a unique opportunity for UTMB to commercialize its telemedicine technologies and contribute to healthcare access solutions in other regions of the United States and the world," he said. UTMB will receive a significant equity position in NuPhysicia and royalties associated with the patents, copyrights and knowledge.
Dr. Karthika Perumal at UTMB's Center for Technology Development oversaw the complex contract negotiations to facilitate the transaction.
NuPhysicia is an outgrowth of the UTMB Electronic Health Network which is one of the largest telemedicine programs in the world. UTMB has the only program in the U.S. dedicated to conducting outcomes-based research using rigorous scientific methods to demonstrate the effectiveness of teletechnology in health care. UTMB Electronic Health Network earned a "Best of Texas" award in 2005 for their integrated
electronic medical records and telemedicine.
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