In the biggest move yet under the leadership of new chief executive Peter Slavin, Cedars-Sinai Health System of Beverly Grove is partnering with New York-based health care venture firm Redesign Health to launch a digital innovation platform that will serve as a basis for an expanded technology transfer program.

Since 2016, Cedars-Sinai has had an accelerator program to support early-stage health tech and digital health companies. Nearly 100 companies have participated to date.

But this digital innovation platform is different: it is intended to take technology developed by Cedars-Sinai medical researchers and help those researchers scale their discoveries into companies with marketable products. This is similar to technology transfer programs at major universities such as UCLA, USC and Caltech, though it appears to be focused on digital health products, not pharmaceuticals.

Partnering with Redesign

To help get this initiative going, Cedars is partnering with Redesign Health, a health care venture firm specializing in new company formation. According to the May 7 announcement, Redesign Health itself, along with partner investors, has launched more than 60 health care companies in the past seven years.

“Cedars-Sinai is uniquely positioned to develop new and innovative ways to fix some of the most pressing problems in health care today, thanks to our focus on translational medicine and our ability to bring together leading-edge clinical care, research, AI and strategic industry relationships to benefit our patients,” Slavin said in the announcement.

Slavin took over as chief executive last fall, replacing longtime chief Tom Priselac.