A new medical technology fund which focusses on early-stage health technologies is itself an innovation. Utilizing its extensive physician network, the new fund gives voice to innovative physicians and other leaders to drive innovation in life sciences.
Meet Paul Slosar, M.D., MHCDS
OTW was able to meet with Paul Slosar, M.D., MHCDS to learn more about the fund and its vision for the future. Dr. Slosar is an orthopedic spine surgeon who practiced for 28 years in the San Francisco Bay area. He is currently a partner at FortySix Venture Capital, a multi-fund manager investing in early-stage technologies. FortySix Venture Capital manages the recently launched PhyCap. Dr. Slosar is the co-founder and a general partner of PhyCap.
Beyond the operating room, Dr. Slosar has advised and positioned companies for acquisition. He spent 11 years with Titan Spine LLC as its chief medical officer. During that time the company was acquired by Medtronic. After the acquisition, he continued to work with Medtronic as a consultant and scientific strategic advisor. Dr. Slosar has provided guidance to other teams during acquisitions including Kyphon (acquired by Medtronic in 2007), Surgical Care Affiliates (acquired by UnitedHealth Group’s Optum in 2017), and Relievant (acquired by Boston Scientific in 2023).
Dr. Slosar’s experience as a surgeon and working business acumen has given him unique insight into the challenges and opportunities available in the healthcare industry.
How Did PhyCap Come About?
When OTW spoke with Dr. Slosar about the creation of PhyCap he made it clear that while he is a co-founder, the credit for the idea actually goes to its other co-founder, Dutch Rojas.
When OTW asked if PhyCap was Rojas’ idea, Dr. Slosar told OTW, “Yeah, the idea was conceived by Dutch [Rojas]. We actually met at the North American Spine Society meeting in 2023 and got along instantly. We were at the same panel discussion talking about physician innovators, alternative revenue opportunities for physicians, and entrepreneurship. So it was this group of interested people all looking at innovation in healthcare, but specifically aimed at physician autonomy to be quite honest.”
Rojas and Dr. Slosar immediately connected at the event and over several subsequent meetings vetted out the idea. When OTW asked Rojas about his inspiration for PhyCap, Rojas said, “I created the PhyCap Fund based on nearly 25 years in healthcare. As a healthcare entrepreneur with three successful exits and five founded companies, I’ve focused on making healthcare more affordable and accessible for everyone, everywhere.”
Rojas continued, “Throughout my career, I noticed many physicians expressing frustration about not benefiting from the healthcare startup ecosystem’s upside despite being crucial to its success. This realization, my commitment to physician autonomy, removal of anti-physician laws, and streamlining healthcare processes led me to create the PhyCap Fund.”
Introducing PhyCap
The creation of PhyCap came less than a year after Rojas and Dr. Slosar had their first meeting. According to Dr. Slosar, PhyCap is “structured as a traditional 10-year horizon venture capital [VC] fund.” It is PhyCap’s physician investor network combined with its focus on practical solutions to healthcare delivery, that makes it stand out in the VC sector.
Rojas informed OTW, “I formed the fund in collaboration with physicians, aiming to address two key objectives:
- Provide physicians with opportunities to invest in and benefit from healthcare startups.
- Deploy capital to companies that support private practices and remove barriers in the physician-patient relationship.
I saw an additional advantage in this approach: physicians involved in the fund would likely use the products of the companies we invest in, potentially contributing to their success and profitability.”
“The fund is anchored by physicians,” Dr. Slosar explained to OTW, “What I mean by that is that the majority of the people who we want to be the limited partners are physicians, or at least healthcare providers. However, this is by no means exclusive because we know the healthcare delivery chain is very complicated and includes many more pieces than physicians.”
The PhyCap Team
Rojas and Dr. Slosar are executing their vision of a fund anchored by and in partnership with physicians. Dr. Slosar and three other PhyCap team members are physicians.
In addition to their medical expertise, the PhyCap physician partners also have extensive leadership and business experience. Dr. Slosar explained to OTW, “We have persons represented there that are men, women, various healthcare disciplines from women’s health, physician owned hospitals, orthopedics, spine surgery, and another one who’s come on who also has venture capital and management experience, but also is an emergency physician.”
Robin Noble, M.D., MHCDS is a PhyCap team member and has been a practicing gynecologist at InterMed for more than 20 years. Dr. Noble is dual boarded in Ob/Gyn and lifestyle medicine. She completed her medical training at Columbia and Ob/Gyn residency at Yale. Dr. Noble is currently the medical director at InterMed Ambulatory Surgery Center and the chief medical advisor at Let’s Talk Menopause.
Frederic Liss, M.D. is an orthopedic surgeon with 30 years of experience and a PhyCap team member. Since 2015 he has been a Castle Connolly Top Doctor®. Dr. Liss founded and led a physician-owned hospital from 2008 to 2023. He is currently the chairman of the board of directors of Physician-Led Healthcare for America (PHA).
Vipul Kella M.D., MBA is the newest PhyCap team member. Dr. Kella is a healthcare leader and emergency room physician. He is the chief medical officer of Physio AI and works with healthcare-focused industries, health tech companies, and hospitals.
By utilizing a deeply experienced physician-backed team, Dr. Slosar believes that the disconnect in healthcare innovation can be remedied. Dr. Slosar told OTW, “At the end of the day here, we’re trying to restore agency to physicians in the process of healthcare innovation.”
Dr. Slosar continued, “We [physicians] have been left out of a lot of it. Many healthcare companies are developed by tech companies and engineers, and then they bring in physicians later. PhyCap Fund aims to drive physician input and investment earlier in the process, which will result in better healthcare solutions.”
Physician Led Innovation
Looking forward, Rojas has a clear vision for PhyCap. When asked about his vision for the fund, Rojas told OTW, “I envision PhyCap Fund achieving two main goals:
- Physician Empowerment in Venture Capital: I aim to help physicians gain exposure and experience in venture capital. By participating in the PhyCap Fund, physicians can learn about the investment process, understand the startup ecosystem, and potentially benefit financially from successful healthcare innovations.
- Inspiring a Physician-Led VC Movement: I envision our endeavors and results will encourage many physicians to start their venture funds. This proliferation of physician-led funds could significantly reshape the healthcare technology landscape.”
Rojas added, “The underlying philosophy driving this vision is that physicians deliver healthcare technology best when they lead it. By putting physicians at the forefront of healthcare innovation and investment, we can ensure that new technologies and solutions align with the needs of healthcare providers and patients. Through PhyCap Fund, we’re not just investing in companies; we’re investing in a future where physicians play a central role in shaping the direction of healthcare innovation and delivery.”
PhyCap is still in its early stages. While the vision for the fund is clear, it will still be a while before the fund begins investing.
Dr. Slosar told OTW, “We are in active fundraising mode right now. So the fund is not investing. We are currently raising the capital in anticipation of approximately a $10 million fund close. That’s our goal. We are seeing tremendous interest and commitments from investors already. Based on our current pace, we anticipate having sufficient funds to initiate investments in early 2025.”
How will the funds be used? According to Dr. Slosar, “It is anticipated that the fund will be more heavily focused on the healthcare delivery side of this first. We will be investing in seed and Series A rounds. The start-ups pitching to us are very interested in our model, especially the access to an investor network of physicians and other healthcare experts. Our strategic input could be the difference between success and failure for a fledgling healthcare company.”
Good Medicine Is Good Business
PhyCap was created in response to a perceived disconnect in healthcare innovation. Its founders believe that the solution to the disconnect is to give physicians a voice in healthcare innovation. That voice is what PhyCap is counting on to drive innovation. Ultimately it comes down to a simple concept and that, according to Dr. Slosar, is that “good medicine is good business.”
