advanced medical technologies

There is certainly the possibility (despite my doubts) that the current economic slowdown in global markets will have major effects on the medical technology industry. One simply cannot deny that there is simply less VC or other cash floating around that might be put to medtech investment. And maybe, as has occurred in the past (e.g., in the post dotcom bubble era), investment that does take place will move further downstream, away from the speculative risk of very early startups. In hindsight, it is easy to see such trends and developments.

But looking forward, it is difficult to see significantly diminished demand for the promise of medical technology development. Companies continue to be founded at a strikingly active pace.

The Medtech Startups Database, from MedMarket Diligence, has over the past half dozen years accumulated the data on nearly 900 new medtech companies under two years old — a remarkable pace of entrepreneurship.  In the very recent activity in company formation, here are a samping of the technologies these companies are pursuing:

• Laser devices to “weld” biological tissues together for wound closures.
• Drug-coated urinary and other catheters and stents that are designed to prevent or treat scar tissue.
• Artificial heart technologies.
• Heart pumps.
• Compliant balloon technologies.
• Device for mitral valve repair without need for sternotomy.
• Pharmaceutical treatments for ischemia and vascular disease, focused on peripheral artery disease.
• Non-polymeric drug eluting stent
• Device technology in diabetes management.
• Medical device inflatables, including devices for biological navigation such as in support of colonoscopy and other endoscopy.
• Minimally-invasive products for motion-preserving spine surgery.
• Minimally invasive treatment of vertebral compression fractures.
• Minimally invasive treatments for removing varicose veins.
• Drug-coated angioplasty for coronary and peripheral applications

 

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Medtech Startups Database described here. See pending and recent MedMarket Diligence reports: Sealants, Glues Wound Closure (coming in December), Ablation Technologies,  and Spine Surgery.