When we look at the statistics, 75% of medical device startups never make it to the market. So, the real question is what makes the 25% succeed?
Innovative medical devices often bring disruptive changes to the market to dramatically improve the quality of patients’ lives. At the same time, the development cycle of an innovative medical product can take anywhere from 3-7 years to reach the stage of possible commercialization.
When we look at the statistics, we find out that 90% of startups fail in the first 5 years. Moving on to the medical device startups, 75% never make it to the market. So, the real question is what makes the 25% succeed?
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Medical Device Success
MDPI published study identified several factors that have a high impact on the success of a medical device company. Technical skills in terms of a highly professional workforce were the most important. However, the technical skillset was followed by aspects such as marketing skills, market analysis, product competitiveness, and its potential for growth. All of these can be defined as aspects that identify whether there is a real need for the product on the market.
Yet another aspect is the speed of development. Due to the heavy regulations, an ineffective Quality Management System can slow down development cycles and incur unreasonable costs. SimplerQMS provides an Electronic Quality Management System (eQMS) that lets you run your operations as efficiently as possible, with a high level of traceability and tested workflows.
The speed with which you can finish the development life cycle and gain access to the market is important because it may affect the demand after your product. Competition, fickle trends, and economic situations might affect the marketability of an innovative medical device more and more with passing years.
This brings us to the point that healthcare trends and market needs play a big role in the potential that medical device start-ups have. For 2022 the forecasted emerging trends tend to incline towards digitalization and data collection outside of the medical institutions.
Medical and MedTech devices that are in the categories of biosensors, wearables, remote patient monitoring, point-of-care and diagnostic tools are in higher and higher demand. Therefore, we put together a list based on these trends.
List of Medical Device Startups
In this list, you will find 12 impressive medical device startups at different levels of their journey. From newest medical device companies with their first rounds of funding to elaborate unicorns that have been in the funding and development game for a while and have started to reach the point of market access.
Synchron – Brain Computer Interface
Synchron develops a fully implantable brain-computer to restore functional independence in patients with paralysis. The brain interface is implanted without the need for open brain surgery and allows the patients to improve their communication and perform daily tasks.
Country: United States
City: Campbell
Started in 2016
Founders: Nicholas Opie, Thomas Oxley
Amount Raised in the Last Round: $40,000,000
Number of funding rounds: 2
BiVacor – Durable Artificial Heart
BiVacor develops a long-term artificial human heart that should last more than 10 years. The innovative medical device uses active magnetic levitation and only a single moving part, which allows for its longevity. Compared to other solutions on the market BiVacor artificial heart operates on the basis of a rotary pump instead of flexing membranes and mechanical valves.
Country: United States
City: Houston
Started in 2008
Founders: Daniel Timms, John Fraser
Amount Raised in the Last Round: $19,000,000
Number of funding rounds: 3
TytoCare – Diagnostics at Home
TytoCare is a medical device that allows you to skip the waiting room. The device collects data about your symptoms and based on that recommends and performs medical exams. The results of these exams are then forwarded to your physician who can prescribe medication or recommend treatment.
Country: United States
City: New York
Started in 2012
Founders: Dedi Gilad, Ofer Tzadik
Amount Raised in the Last Round: $50,000,000
Number of Funding Rounds: 7
InsighTec – Incisionless Operations
Insightec develops focused ultrasound devices for image-guided acoustic surgery. Their devices are meant to serve as an alternative to the typical surgery. High intensity focused ultrasound generates enough heat to target and affect tissue inside the body, without making any incisions. This allows the surgeon to use a computer station and mouse instead of a scalpel.
Country: Israel
City: Tirat Carmel
Started in 1999
Founders: Kobi Vortman
Amount Raised in the Last Round: $136,000,000
Number of funding rounds: 10
ReperioHealth – Diagnostics at Home
Reperio Health provides an FDA-approved health test kit that allows you to monitor your health. The health kit tests for essential biometric indicators such as blood pressure, cholesterol, resting heart rate, and more. It is a diagnostic tool that allows you to perform basic health checks at your home and based on them recommends a possible visit to a physician.
Country: United States
City: Portland
Started in 2020
Founders: Matt Wallington, Travis Rush
Amount Raised in the Last Round: $6,000,000
Number of Funding Rounds: 1
CMRSurgical – Surgical Robot
CMR Surgical manufactures a minimal access surgical robot with a focus on high precision operations. The robot has the ability to continuously collect data during operations and therefore create a benchmark for operations, surgeon training, and performance.
Country: United Kingdom
City: Cambridge
Started in 2014
Founders: Luke Hares, Mark Slack, Martin Frost
Amount Raised in the Last Round: $425,000,000
Number of funding rounds: 4
ZygoFix – Spinal Implants
ZygoFix develops a miniature implant that achieves spinal fusion and stability without screws. The medical device is called zLOCK and its unique design allows it to adjust to the joint’s natural geometry and provide stabilization. The zLOCK is made from rigid titanium with a porous texture and the minimal invasiveness required to place the implant is yet another essential benefit.
Country: Israel
City: Nahariya
Started in 2017
Founders: Uri Arnin, Yizhar Floman
Amount Raised in the Last Round: $2,000,000
Number of funding rounds: 3
Hemotune – Magnetic Blood Purification
Hemotune combines biomedicine and nanotechnology to construct a blood purification medical device. The machine operates on the basis of tiny magnetic beads that capture disease-causing substances in the bloodstream. This restores immune balance in septic shock and improves the patient’s conditions.
Country: Switzerland
City: Zürich
Started in 2016
Founders: Carlos Mora, Lukas Langenegger
Amount Raised in the Last Round: CHF 5,100,000
Number of funding rounds: 10
LightPoint Medical – Targeted Cancer Surgery
A medical startup that manufactures technology that lets surgeons detect cancerous tissue during operations. The device can be navigated over a full spherical range of motion and therefore allow for accurate cancer tissue detection in narrows spaces as well. More precise targeted cancer surgery then results in better operational outcomes and shorter recovery times.
Country: United Kingdom
City: Chesham
Started in 2012
Founders: David Tuch
Amount Raised in the Last Round: $5,800,000
Number of funding rounds: 11
Puzzle Medical Devices – Hemodynamic Support
Puzzle Medical Solutions is a small medical device company that specializes in minimally invasive long-term hemodynamic transcatheter pumps. Its main advantage is that it restores the adequate blood circulating volume for patients with heart failure. The new medical device allows patients to have better accessibility and improve their quality of life.
Country: Canada
City: Montréal
Started in 2018
Founders: Francois Trudeau, Gabriel Georges, Jade Doucet-Martineau
Amount Raised in the Last Round: Undisclosed
Number of funding rounds: 7
TracInnovations – MRI Motion Tracking
TracInnovations develops a motion tracking system for MRI scans. Motion causes image degradation and therefore makes it harder to determine the diagnosis. Because of that 20% of scans need to be repeated due to motion which incurs considerable costs. TracInnovations’ medical device tracks a patient’s motion and thus provides a better basis for diagnosis and treatment.
Country: Denmark
City: Ballerup
Started in 2015
Founders: Kim Bendixen, Oline Vinter Olesen
Amount Raised in the Last Round: Undisclosed
Number of funding rounds: 2
Neurent Medical – Rhinitis Treatment
Neurent Medical solves the problem of Rhinitis, which is characterized by constant inflammation of the nasal mucous membrane. It has a significant impact on the patient’s quality of life and typically leads to the development of more serious symptoms. The solution is a medical device called Neuromere. It non-invasively applies low-frequency energy to specific regions of the nasal cavity to eliminate core symptoms of the disease.
Country: Ireland
City: Oranmore
Started in 2014
Founders: Brian Shields, David Townley
Amount Raised in the Last Round: $20,600,000
Number of funding rounds: 3
Summary
| Company Name | Main Purpose | Year Founded | Total Funding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Synchron | Brain Computer Interface | 2016 | $50,000,000 |
| BiVacor | Artificial Heart | 2008 | $22,000,000 |
| TytoCare | Diagnostics at Home | 2012 | $156,700,000 |
| InsighTec | Incisionless Surgery | 1999 | $632,900,000 |
| ReperioHealth | Diagnostics at Home | 2020 | $6,000,000 |
| CMRSurgical | Surgical Robot | 2014 | $974,700,000 |
| ZygoFix | Spinal Implants | 2017 | $10,700,000 |
| Hemotune | Magnetic Blood Purification | 2016 | $2,100,000 |
| LightPoint Medical | Targeted Cancer Surgery | 2012 | $33,400,000 |
| Puzzle Medical Devices | Hemodynamic Support | 2018 | Undisclosed |
| TracInnovations | Motion Tracking | 2015 | Undisclosed |
| Neurent Medical | Rhinitis Treatment | 2014 | $35,800,000 |
New and innovative medical device startups can create a disruption in the healthcare sector, relieve patients of their symptoms and improve their quality of life. The future seems to lie in faster and more precise diagnostics that can be performed in any location.
It is hard to say to what extent was this trend influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic situation, but it is safe to predict that we will likely see more and more point-of-care diagnostic devices for home-usage. On the other hand, devices that bring futuristic ideas to life such as incision-less operations or artificial hearts will never leave the edge of incredible innovations, regardless of trends.
It is however certain that new technological advancements such as AI, machine learning, or cloud-based systems have the potential to revolutionize healthcare and save many lives.
