USA | Life Sciences & Health Mission California

From the 11^th until the 15^th of April 2022, the Consulate General in San Francisco, the Innovation Attaché Network, the Netherlands Business Support Office Los Angeles and Task Force Health Care will organize an exploratory Life Sciences & Health visit to California.

During this visit, various healthcare stakeholders in Los Angeles and San Francisco will be visited, amongst others public, private and academic hospitals, knowledge- and research institutes and important health networks.

About California: San Francisco & Los Angeles

California is by far the largest state in the USA in economic terms and the healthcare market is equally vast.

South California (Greater LA Area and San Diego) is home to some of the most advanced hospitals in the USA and an epic center for Biotech.  The region is also leading in the integration of digital and information technology and medical devices

More north, in the San Francisco Bay Area, dominant players in the fields of medical devices, robotic surgery, wearables and medical 3D printing are active. In addition, the region is a world leader in AI innovations and the cross-sectoral applications of AI.

For the whole region, the rapidly increasing adoption of “telehealth” provides many new opportunities for digital healthcare solutions and medical device companies to develop new models that put the patient-provider relationship, as well as education, at the centre of health care, with the goal of improving care outcomes. Additional market information can be found in the market report LSH in California (published in 2021).

What to expect?

The visit focuses on exploring opportunities and areas for future collaboration between California and the Netherlands in the areas of eHealth and medical devices. It also serves as a preparatory visit for follow-up activities later in 2022, one of which is an Economic Mission in September with Dutch officials.

The program is still under development but will include the following elements:

• Site visits in and around San Francisco and Los Angeles, e.g., to medical universities, companies, and networking organizations.
• Roundtable discussions on technology and investment trends and possible collaboration opportunities around the themes determined in consultation with the participants.
• Networking meetings.

Who should join?

Due to the nature of this visit, the invitation is primarily targeted at Dutch companies already active or seeking to be active in the region.

Additionally, this visit is mostly relevant for Dutch companies active in the following fields:

• Digital Care & Transformations: data-driven solutions and accompanying digital infrastructure, that contribute to improving access to and quality of care within, outside and between care institutions. Focused on artificial intelligence, interoperability, safe data exchange, wearables and monitoring.
• Innovative Medical Devices: Smart products, devices and equipment within the LSH sector that facilitates accessible and affordable healthcare. Focus on personalized medical technology, diagnostics (imaging), medical robotics and AI as a technology.

Diversity, inclusion, and out-of-the-box thinking are especially valued in the California region and often preferred over a traditional way of doing business. We therefore explicitly invite entrepreneurs from different backgrounds to participate in this visit, to exchange their expertise and experiences.

The maximum number of participants for this visit is 10. Depending on the COVID restrictions in place at the time and imposed by the locations to be visited, the maximum number of participants may still change. Definitive participation depends on the number of spots available. We will also consider how well your technology fits within the scope and purpose of the visit.

Participation fee

The cost of participating in the innovation visit is as follows:

• TFHC Partner: € 500,- (excl. VAT), per person.
• Non-TFHC Partner: €650,- (excl. VAT), per person.

Participation includes the program, transfers to program components and lunch and dinners when included as part of the program, and excludes travel and accommodation costs (such as hotels and domestic and intercontinental flights) and all individual costs, such as lunches and dinners outside the program.

Register today!

If you want to be part of the Dutch LSH delegation, please register before 11 March 2022.

COVID-19 clause

The organization will make a decision on 15 March to proceed with this visit program based on the then-current travel advice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the entry regulations applicable in the USA at that time. Participants will be informed immediately. No participant costs will be charged in the event of postponement or cancellation. If the travel advice changes in the period between 15 March and departure, the organization reserves the right to cancel the trip and the participation fees may not be (fully) reimbursed.

Local measures are subject to change and are closely monitored by the Dutch representation in the United States. You will be informed of the measures and conditions applicable before your departure. Participants are responsible for informing themselves of any potential visa and COVID (testing, quarantine upon return) requirements. The current travel advice for the United States can be found here (Rijksoverheid) and here (CDC).