The marriage of high tech and medtech
Cooperation between medical device companies and consumer technology companies is increasing as more products roll out to monitor people’s health and catch problems early, according Eric Geismar of EPG Consulting, who participated in a DeviceTalks West panel in December.“You see Google and Apple working with a lot of device companies now in trying to enhance their own products as well as develop new ones for device companies,” Geismar said.
Recent examples of partnerships between medtech and high tech include:
- ResMed and Google’s life sciences sister company Verily said in July 2018 that they had forged a joint venture to develop software solutions to improve diagnosis, treatment and care for sleep apnea and other sleep disorders.
- Zimmer Biomet announced in October 2018 that it planned to enroll as many as 10,000 hip and knee replacement patients in a clinical trial studying how well the orthopedic giant’s MyMobility app and the Apple Watch improved outcomes and lowered costs.
For now, medtech M&A deals involving digital are too small in size and number to drive transformative change, according to a recent EY report. Said the report: “An uncertain return on investment and rapid pace of technology change mean companies will emphasize digital alliances not M&A in 2019.”
Expect partnerships with consumer electronic companies to move medical device companies toward new business strategies.
Gone are the days when medical device companies simply sell to health providers.
“The medical home, value-based care, avoiding readmissions, high-deductible health plans, telehealth and more are all healthcare market shifts that will continue to pull medical devices out of traditional provider environments to alternate sites or directly to patients,” Tim Gee, principal of Medical Connectivity Consulting told MDO late last year.