Medtech Talk

Ask renowned vitreoretinal surgeon and inventor Steve Charles, MD, if he considers himself a surgeon or engineer first and he’ll answer – both. In this podcast, Dr. Charles says the terms “inventor” and “innovator” aren’t job titles. Innovation and inventing are what you get when insightful people commit themselves to a lifetime of learning in engineering and medicine. He gives his view of the future of innovation in the US. Here’s a hint: You won’t need to wear shades.

We were hoping to capture some real-world wisdom by putting three CEOs –Bill Facteau of Earlens, Bob Paulson of NxThera and John Stevens of HeartFlow –on a panel to share reimbursement war stories. Many of those attending the May 31st Medtech Conference think we got our wish.

In this Medtech Talk Podcast, CEO John Pedersen explains why he chose to help Augmenix roll out its SPACEOAR implant, a hydrogel that's inserted between a patient's prostate and rectum to save healthy tissue from radiation exposure. In this talk, Pedersen discusses the rise of urology - which includes the recent acquisitions of Neotract and NxThera. He also updates listeners on Augmenix's efforts to secure reimbursement. Finally, the former Boston Scientific exec offers advice to anyone working in a global Medtech company.

CEOs often are assigned skill sets that define their stage of specialty: start-up CEOs, commercial CEOs, etc. Two of our guests at the Medtech Conference in Minneapolis defied those definitions by taking start-ups through commercial launches and onto the public markets. In these interviews, Tim Herbert of Inspire Medical and Adam Elsesser of Penumbra talk about the challenges of leading a company from Day 1 to IPO.

Join us on Thursday at the Medtech Conference in Minneapolis to hear from Congressman Erik Paulsen.A longtime proponent of the Medtech industry, Rep. Paulsen most recently co-authored a letter asking the Trump administration to remove medical technology products from a list of Chinese imports subject to protective tariffs.The five-term Congressman also has fought against the Medical Device Tax.The Medtech Conference co-chairs and advisory board also are pleased to honor Dave Amerson, CEO of NeoTract, as the recipient of this year’s Dealmaker of the Year Award.The award recognizes Amerson's leadership of the urology start-up as it established its UroLift System as a critical treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia. Sales of UroLift were surging when Teleflex agreed to acquire the company, paying $725 million up front with the promise of another $375 million in milestone payments over the next two years.In an interview, Justin Klein, general partner of NEA, and Amerson will discuss:The steps Neotract took to adopt a winning culture?What strategies helped the company secure support from payers, providers?How the deal with Teleflex came to be?What's next for Teleflex in Urology?Join us on May 31st to explore this singular successful story and to better understand our entire Medtech sector.

TransEnterix President and CEO Todd Pope took the helm of the start-up to create a new single-port surgery system. Little did Todd know he'd be running a global robotics company that's now moving into multiple markets, including the US. In this interview, Pope takes us through the career path that led him to run the start-up in 2008. He then walks us through the company's aggressive moves to develop its Spider Surgical System before making an ambitious move into robotics. Now, TransEnterix is rolling out its new Senhance Surgical Robotic System.

David Van Sickle, CEO & Co-Founder of Propeller Health, brings his public health background to health tech start-up Propeller Health. The company has created a line of sensors that work in conjunction with inhalers and spirometers to measure medication intake and breathing capacity of people with asthma. The start-up has undertaken some bold projects with entire cities including Louisville to demonstrate how tools such as these can benefit communities. In this podcast Van Sickle discusses the company's unique origins, its technology and a small hiccup involving the company's former name. Van Sickle will be speaking on an innovative panel at the May 31 Medtech Conference in Minneapolis.

Boston Scientific's acquisition of NxThera obviously signals an end of one era. The 10-year-old start-up will live inside the global giant, of course, but we ask CEO Bob Paulson what the sale means to him on a personal level. Paulson also walks us through his unorthodox career in marketing, corporate law, accounting, and finally leading a highly successful Medtech Start-Up.

In 2010, John McCutcheon joined Ceterix, a start-up with big goals and a surer FDA path than his previous company. McCutcheon recounts the FDA's battering of that company, Emphasys, and explains how his current company is rolling today.

Intact Vascular recently secured an additional $20m to push the Tack Endovascular System to PMA approval. CEO Bruce Shook discusses the round, the potential for Tack, and shares that he's actually the CEO of TWO Medtech start-ups.