We want to begin by wishing you and your team, a joyous and safe holiday season. Thank you for all your support and the opportunities you have sent our way. We hope you all get to enjoy this time with your loved ones.
In so many ways, 2017 was a landmark year for GCMI. From our ongoing efforts to truly put the “Global” in GCMI, to building a team and infrastructure capable of taking new medtech ideas from concept to commercialization, to proving the value of our work for clinicians and scientists across multiple institution types – from individuals, to small companies, to major institutions like Piedmont Health. We are exceedingly proud of our progress and close out 2017 with high levels of optimism for what 2018 will bring.
Here are just a few highlights from 2017.
Going Global
If we are going to live up to our name as the Global Center for Medical Innovation, it is incumbent upon us to create new partnerships beyond our Atlanta home. GCMI CEO Tiffany Wilson visited with medtech innovators and investors in The Netherlands, Israel and India, where she contributed to the program at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit.
“Companies everywhere see opportunities to support medtech startups across the global in their efforts to enter the U.S. market,” says GCMI CEO Tif Wilson. “The Southeast remains an attractive landing spot thanks to the robust elements within our ecosystem. Medtech industry players see GCMI as the right partner to help achieve U.S. market entry in a capital efficient manner. We will be working hard in 2018 to develop new partnerships with investors, ecosystem supporters like incubators, NGOs, economic development agencies and new customers to further legitimize our name as the Global Center for Medical Innovation.”
Building out our service lines & streamlining the development pathway
D2 – GCMI’s Design & Development Service
Bringing napkin note/back of the envelope to life for your medical device idea. That’s what the D2 (Design & Development) team does every single day. Learn more about the Why, the Process and our Facilities here.
T3 Labs – Industry Leading Preclinical Testing and Bioskills Training Services
10 species. 11 therapeutic areas. GLP-compliant.
What makes an outstanding preclinical CRO? In the words of Dr. Rebecca Levit, Professor of Cardiology at Emory University and Chief Scientific Officer of CorAmi Therapeutics, “T3 Labs [has] the perfect setup for what we needed,” says Dr. Levit. “From the cath lab to fluoroscopy to large animal proficiency, not to mention years of expertise specific to cardiology.”
“More so, T3 is a very friendly CRO to work with- the entire staff is excited and interested in our technology. I remember even in testing our first prototype- multiple staff members stuck their head in just to say ‘good luck.’ The customer service is what really sets T3 Labs apart from other CRO’s.”
A1 – The Medtech Accelerator
De-risking your product to accelerate the commercialization pathway.
“Too many medtech startups fail unnecessarily due to a lack of bridge, or seed funding, required to advance far enough in the commercialization process to attract investment by a larger device company,” said Tiffany Wilson, CEO of Atlanta-based GCMI and its preclinical testing and training arm T3 Labs.”
This is precisely the problem GCMI’s A1 Accelerator aims to solve. Thanks to our first partner BD and first company accepted into the accelerator, Linear Health, we now have an asset with the capability to “increase regional medtech investment and maximize our local and regional resources’ capabilities to drive improvements in patient care and meaningful economic growth.”
Continuing to prove the value of our partnerships and affiliations
Piedmont Healthcare has an ongoing partnership with GCMI. Launched in 2016, Piedmont Innovations intends to change the way healthcare is delivered by advancing medical technology and investing time and resources into physician innovators.
“Piedmont Healthcare wanted to provide a pathway for our staff to develop their medical device ideas,” says John Henson, Piedmont Healthcare Chief of Oncology Services. “Initially we knew we would need a partner to help us successfully navigate the process, concept to commercialization. We found that partner in GCMI.”
GA Tech, Emory – some of the best innovations evolve from basic research initiatives. GCMI supports academic and government funded interests in various ways as a service provider. We are fortunate to have some of the best engineers and clinicians just across the street.
Read more about our work to pull medtech innovation out of the clinical mindspace and into clinical utility with Piedmont Healthcare here.
What’s next?
2018 will bring a brand new logo encompassing all our lines of service and providing one cohesive website that highlights all our capabilities. We hope to launch these in Q1 2018, so stay tuned for this launch, partner stories and expansion of our ecosystem news!
Stay in touch. You can follow GCMI and T3 Labs on LinkedIn and Twitter. And to ensure you always get the latest GCMI newsletter, register here.
Happy Holidays!
The Team at GCMI.