Investing Time in San Francisco

I considered writing this Letter on the passage of the legislation that suspends the medical device excise tax for another two years (literally just happened last night, at the time I’m writing this), but since we’ve already been down that road, just rinse/repeat anything I’ve written about it approximately two years ago. Different law specifics, same suspension details. Hopefully, come 2020, the tax will have finally been put down.

Instead, I’ve elected to share my recent experience from my first visit to San Francisco in January. Of course, it was nice to get out of New Jersey’s winter weather for a few days, but that wasn’t the goal of my trip. Rather, I was there to experience the events that surround the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference investment event that takes place in the bay area about a week after the new year.

Unfortunately, entrance into the actual J.P. Morgan event is the hardest ticket in town, reserved for only the biggest healthcare players (in pharmaceutical and medtech alike) as well as the “high rollers” within the investment community. The meeting, however, has spawned intriguing side opportunities and gatherings for those involved in healthcare technology development and investment. Specifically, there are meetings set at other hotels, breakfast forums, evening receptions, and even another investor event—the Digital Medicine & Medtech Showcase, which is where I spent the majority of my time.

Presented by Informa (which, on a side note, has announced its plans to buy UBM—presenters of the MD&M series of industry tradeshows), the Digital Medicine & Medtech Showcase offers a laser-focused agenda. Primarily, it provides a platform for emerging companies (in some instances, it’s closer to an emerging idea) to present their stories and technologies within a 14-minute window to a room of potential partners, investors, medtech OEMs, and others. A one-on-one area is then utilized to enable further discussion to occur. Sprinkled in for good measure are some interesting panel sessions (this year, the overwhelming focus was on the digital health sector over the more traditional medtech space).

While I was somewhat disappointed to see such a disparity in the number of presenting companies at the Digital Health & Medtech Showcase compared to its sister event—the Biotech Showcase—there were several interesting companies that caught my attention.

BioFuse Medical Technologies, located in Melbourne, Fla., has developed the BioFusion BioPolar RF Generator that enables surgeons to close wounds without the use of sutures or staples. Employing an FDA-cleared energy algorithm, the device maintains the fluidity and viability of tissue, creating a fusion stronger and more rapidly than the aforementioned traditional alternatives.

Cincinnati, Ohio-based Sense Diagnostics addressed the need to reduce delays in treating stroke victims with a type of helmet. Using radio waves, the instrument enables a diagnosis and monitoring of the patient, helping to ensure they get to the right care facility and reduce the time it takes to start treatment.

Boasting “vanishingly small implantables,” Berkley, Calif.’s Iota Biosciences provides a proprietary “dust” platform that offers bi-directional communications and the ability to travel deep within the human body. The company is in the pre-clinical stage and was seeking Series A funding, but the expectation is the technology could be used for neural interfaces and monitoring physiological concerns.

Dymicron, based in Orem, Utah, presented on its clinical stage technology to address degenerative disc disease. The Triadyme-C cervical total disc replacement device has already been approved for sale in Europe. The company states the design mimics natural motion and experiences minimal wear.

These were only a small sampling of the more than 75 medical device and digital health startups and companies that presented during the three-day event. Hopefully, many of them found the partners they sought, whether for more investment dollars, distribution agreements, or development assistance.

From a selfish standpoint, that last item is where I would have liked to see more from the event. I fully recognize the purpose and scope is to be a type of technology showcase for investors. I just wonder, given the number of smaller and developing firms there, if presenting more outsourcing support to the showcasing companies would be beneficial. Perhaps adding an additional panel discussion that talks about getting an idea through to market, the common missteps, best practices for identifying the right partner, etc., is something worth exploring. Again, I realize the event is not catering to that audience, but I also admitted this is from my own selfish point of view. If the event ultimately resulted in dollars being invested in many of the companies on display, it would certainly have to be deemed a success. Let these newcomers to the medical device industry discover solutions via MPO.

Once more, from my own selfish perspective.