OREANDA-NEWS. McKesson Corporation [NYSE: MCK] today announced that it has launched McKesson Ventures, a strategic venture capital fund, to invest in early and growth stage companies addressing both current and emerging business challenges facing the healthcare industry. Industry veteran Tom Rodgers has joined McKesson Ventures as managing director and leads the fund's investment portfolio.

"McKesson Ventures will help us support the development and commercialization of innovations taking place across healthcare," said John Hammergren, chairman and CEO, McKesson. "By investing and partnering with entrepreneurs and other investors that can bring new approaches to the challenges our customers are facing, we will accelerate the innovation cycle and further strengthen the value we provide to industry stakeholders across all segments."

McKesson Ventures is actively making minority investments in companies that span a broad section of healthcare. The fund is focused on helping build businesses that are driving towards a stronger, more sustainable future for healthcare and will target companies that are both enabling and benefitting from the disruptive changes affecting the industry. These changes include increasing consumerism, emergence of alternate delivery models and the shift towards value based reimbursement models. These target companies will predominantly be pursuing high growth opportunities adjacent to or outside McKesson's current business.

Tom Rodgers joins McKesson Ventures from Cambia Health, where he led their venture investing efforts targeting companies that are helping to lower cost, improve access, and improve the navigability and sustainability of the healthcare system for providers, employers and consumers. Prior to Cambia, Rodgers was a partner at Advanced Technology Ventures (ATV), where he led efforts in healthcare technology. He is returning to McKesson, after more than a decade in the venture industry, where he previously served as a vice president of corporate strategy and business development. Rodgers holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School and a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.

"With experience working with both large healthcare companies like McKesson and many promising healthcare startups, Tom's background gives him a clear understanding of the opportunities for both incremental and transformative change in the business of healthcare," said Hammergren. "Under his guidance, McKesson Ventures will be a valuable financial and strategic partner for its portfolio companies and, when synergies exist, serve as a conduit to the many strengths, relationships and industry breadth of McKesson."

"McKesson has long been dedicated to staying ahead of its customers' needs, and the establishment of McKesson Ventures furthers its long-standing commitment to the development of innovative healthcare solutions and thought leadership within the industry. I am excited to return and to have the dedication, vision and industry footprint of McKesson behind this effort," said Tom Rodgers.