2016 was a fantastic year for the Global Center for Medical Innovation (GCMI) and for the medical technology community as a whole. This year has been characterized by its spirit of collaboration, and the industry’s determination to meet and create new goals for medtech innovation. It is with fervor and excitement that we carry the progress made in 2016 into the new year. As this year comes to a close, we want to share the high points of 2016, as well as the headway we plan to make in 2017.
Collaboration is key: Formally joining forces with T3 Labs
GCMI has taken a strong stance of leading by example when urging the healthcare community to collaborate. A monumental partnership that was brought to fruition following years of affiliation is GCMI’s formal partnership with T3 Labs: the southeast’s leading preclinical CRO. This joining of forces, officially announced in July of this year, further helps streamline the process of bringing a medical device from concept to cure to commercialization. This has created an all-in-one resource for innovators by bringing together the experts of the commercialization process, GCMI, and the professionals who are able to guide innovators through preclinical testing in a AAALAC accredited and GLP compliant facility. This example will ultimately spark further medtech collaboration to create better experiences and outcomes for patients.
Our new medtech accelerator launching in February
In February of 2017, we hope to launch our very own medtech accelerator; acting as a sandbox for industry partners to observe high potential companies as they mature in a measured, milestone-stone driven manner. GCMI will apply resources, guidance, facilities and world-class accelerator tools. At the end of the 6-12 month time in the accelerator, our partners will see a more mature company, a more “de-risked” medical device, and will have the opportunity to work with them further.
“GCMI levels the playing field for small medtech startups to get a toe hold, work through regulatory, make it to market and then scale. With their help, we were able to avoid millions of dollars in upfront costs.” – John O’Shaughnessy, Founder and CEO of Matrix Surgical USA
Stay up-to-date with news about our innovator accelerator by following us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Medtech Women@SEMDA empowering female professionals and innovators
GCMI was a key player in the inaugural Medtech Women@SEMDA conference that took place in late October, bringing together the prominent females in medtech together in one room: it was truly a “room full of badass women.” GCMI and T3 Labs CEO, Tiffany Wilson, is the Chair of Medtech Women and because of her experience as a leading lady in the medical technology industry, also its biggest fan.
“This event is the perfect launching pad for Medtech Women@SEMDA’s vision of serving as a strong advisory network for mentoring and professional development for female professionals and innovators across the medical technology industry in the Southeast,” says Wilson. “We want to see more women positioned for executive leadership in the industry and involved in the entrepreneurial process. Diversity and inclusion matters.”
In 2017 we are looking forward to more Medtech Women@SEMDA events and the myriad of other conferences we will attend, bringing us together with healthcare professionals and medtech elite so that we are able to ignite meaningful partnerships and impact the industry as a whole.
GCMI and T3 Labs to speed developmental pathway for cancer diagnostic and treatment devices
During his 2016 State of the Union Address, President Obama called on Vice President Biden to lead a new, national “Moonshot” initiative to eliminate cancer as we know it. With the initiative came a task force and partnerships with both private and public sector companies to help make the moonshot a reality. In October of 2016 GCMI and T3 partnered with the National Cancer Institute, as part of the initiative, to provide a speedy developmental pathway that will help creators of novel cancer treatment devices hit milestones that will lead to follow-on investments and reach commercialization.
We are pleased to see this collaboration come to fruition in 2017: demonstrating to the entire healthcare ecosystem that it is possible to double the speed, while reducing the cost, for novel cancer diagnostic medtech innovation and treatment devices to reach physicians and patients; and to help those patients diagnosed with cancer live without fear of recurrence.
Stay tuned for big news and exciting updates regarding our partnership with the NCI and Cancer Moonshot Initiative.
As always we are looking forward to the new year and the opportunities that we have to help physicians, academics, and others, with novel medical device ideas, become innovators.
If you are are looking for a partner and trusted guide to help you bring your idea from concept to cure to commercialization in 2017, contact us today and let us help you maneuver the ever-evolving and complex developmental pathway.