ARTICLE SUMMARY:
Singapore possesses many of the capabilities needed to build successful medtech companies. MedTech Catapult, a national platform hosted by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore’s lead public sector R&D agency, aims to connect and build upon these strengths to accelerate promising innovations toward commercial success, and, in the process, to further strengthen Singapore’s medtech ecosystem.
Medtech is one of the most difficult categories in which to deliver products all the way from the light bulb moment of inspiration to the hands of end-users. At the start, one must be sure to identify an appropriate solution for a validated clinical need, then convince investors to back the plan. Next comes the demonstration of safety and efficacy in clinical trials, which hopefully leads to approval by regulators. That’s not necessarily even the toughest part. How a company gets paid for its innovations is a critical variable, and ultimately, the product must fit within the clinical workflow and skill sets of the medical end-users; it must “feel” right in their hands. There is yet one more requirement: it must be feasible to manufacture on a scale in a way that can be approved by regulatory bodies and provide profit margins.
The academic inventor or founder of a medical device start-up rarely possesses all the knowledge, skills, and assets to run the entire gauntlet.
Helping entrepreneurs and their start-ups learn how to deal with the gaps among their capabilities has been the raison d’être of many medtech-focused incubators and accelerators, such as The Foundry, Fogarty Innovation, JLABS, and MedTech Innovator, to name only a few of the prominent initiatives. To enhance the process, teaching people how to become successful medical device entrepreneurs is the work of the Stanford Mussallem Center for Biodesign. (See “Biodesign at Fifteen,” MedTech Strategist, June 30, 2016, and “Fogarty Innovation: An Innovation Powerhouse,” MedTech Strategist, March 15, 2023.)
