Even if key issues like clinical advisory (Unit 1) and market access (Unit 2) have been addressed successfully, MedTech Start-ups and SMEs continue to face limiting factors such as market research and actual sales volume. One reason for that: Prior to investing R&D resources, market research may have been performed insufficiently; market appraisals or design-to-cost are wrong or missing. Thus, the targeted market segment turns out to be too small in volume or value, or the role of competitors, substitutes and distributors is being underestimated.

Additionally, robust knowledge about pofit pools in every step of the distribution chain may be missing and the medical device ends up being just too expensive for clinical endusers – or the product doesn’t deliver the required margin to the manufacturer. Moreover, MedTech Start-ups and SMEs experience difficulties in determining and managing their optimal distribution model. Consequently, the sales and growth potential of a new product cannot be fully exhausted.

As a matter of fact, a majority of  Start-up and SME entrepreneurs are graduate engineers, scientists oder physicians. Those individuals may lack the appropriate methods and tools for decision making in a particular operational context or in strategic planning. Fully occupied in their daily business, those MedTech entrepreneurs require methodological know-how in a crash-course format that is specificly tailored to their actual decision making problem.

Experts:

Dr. Thomas Wille
Founder & Owner, ArgosConsult

A business graduate and Ph.D., Dr. Thomas Wille is founder and owner of the strategy consulting company ArgosConsult since 2007. Focus areas are strategic planning, strategic marketing, and market-orientated product tinnovation  in the medical device industry. Prior to leading ArgosConsult, his industry track record includes positions like territory manager, product manager and head of marketing at global medical device companies. Dr. Wille also serves as an adjunct professor and research associate at Lahr University of Applied Sciences.

Dr. Jean-Jacques Origer
managing Director, Medibridge GmbH

Dr. Origer’s medical device industry track record includes more than 25 years in senior management roles in international sales of global MedTech corporations. He was particularly involved in identifying, selecting and managing channels and distributors for medical devices according to specific requirements of technologies and target groups, and with particular focus on emerging markets in eastern Europe. Since 2009 he is founder and managing director of Medibridge, a company that provides expert consulting in those areas described above.