Innovation Lab Commercialization & Technology Director Ryan Kelly Shares Obstacles of Transformative Medtech

Ryan Kelly, Director, Commercialization & Technology Transfer, has written this article for Design News about the path to medtech launch. 

Medical device innovation has steadily progressed as our understanding of disease states has deepened. However, device development still faces significant challenges.

From concept to commercialization, advancing medical devices through to commercialization is risky business. The “runway” before takeoff can easily last five to seven years. Sizable amounts of time and resources are necessary to navigate and satisfy the constantly evolving regulatory and reimbursement requirements, which keep many potential players on the sidelines.

Established medical device companies have largely eliminated or minimized internal R&D. In the current paradigm, companies prefer to wait until pioneering external innovators develop and de-risk assets before they are willing to engage partnerships and devote resources toward developing new platforms. In many cases, they will wait to gauge early sales before pursuing acquisitions or co-development. Unfortunately, too many projects are shelved because innovators exhaust their resources before their products are ever launched. More…