Year in Review – Technology

MedTech/Life Sciences

In March 2018 the Israel Innovation Authority launched a $264 Million National Digital Health Program, with the aim of promoting Israel as a leader in digital health, and improving the quality and quantity of digital health data to support the research and development of preventive and personalize medicine. The program includes a new National Genomic-Clinical Initiative, aimed at sequencing and analyzing the genomes of 100,000 Israeli volunteers, for the purpose of aiding drug discovery.

In addition the IIA launched a new Incentive Track (No. 35) to encourage foreign industrial corporations to establish or expand their R&D centers in Israel in the fields of Biotechnology, Medical Devices or Digital Health, by offering non-repayable grants to be provided as reimbursement against R&D expenses. The first pilot grant of NIS 120 million is to be paid over the next six years to Medtronic, GE Healthcare and Change Healthcare.

M&A – Warranty and Indemnity Insurance

W&I Insurance popularity is growing in M&A deals. These policies certainly have their benefits but also their draw backs (as with most things in life), that need to be weighed against each other in light of the idiosyncrasies of any particular deal.  

Click to read: Warranty & Indemnity (W&I) Insurance – It’s All in the Name

New IP Licensing Rules for Multinational Companies

As part of the IIA’s effort to allow more flexibility in utilizing know-how developed by IIA supported companies,  new rules were promulgated allowing, subject to certain conditions, the granting of a license to a related multinational corporation outside of Israel to use know-how developed using the IIA’s support, without triggering any penalty payments, and only subject to the payment of royalties at a rate of 5% of the licensing fee customarily received from a multinational corporation. These new rules have the potential of allowing multinational corporations interested in acquiring IIA supported companies more flexibility in their know-how and IP management, while generating economic benefit to the Israeli economy

Click to read: Israel’s Innovation Authority Issues New Know-How Licensing Rules for Multinational Corporations