BD Backs Southeast U.S. Medtech Accelerator
By Jof Enriquez,
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Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) is collaborating with the Atlanta-based, not-for-profit organization Global Center for Medical Innovation (GCMI) in launching a new medtech accelerator for startups in the southeastern United States.
BD and partner companies will fund and mentor GCMI Medtech Accelerator startups along a milestone-driven, 6-12 month timeline to develop and "de-risk" their medical device product/s into potential commercialization. These milestones include intellectual property (IP) protection, FDA 510(k) submission, preclinical studies, and/or a startup’s first contract with a provider or hospital. Each participant will be hand-picked by GCMI, an industry partner, and subject matter experts.
“In spite of best efforts, medtech startups still face ‘a valley of death’ when it comes to securing funding and bringing the first product to market,” stated Ellen Strahlman, MD, MHSc, Executive VP of R&D and Chief Medical Officer for BD, in a statement. “GCMI represents a unique way to address that issue and the program dovetails nicely with BD’s global accelerator partnerships.”
BD has been collaborating with industry and academe partners in supporting emerging medtech endeavors since 1998. The company's BioVenture Centers in Research Triangle Park, N.C., and in Singapore serve incubator clients. It's a partner in FastForward, a business accelerator program of Johns Hopkins University, which supports early-stage companies trying to develop products in therapeutics, medical devices, medical software and health care IT. In close collaboration with Microsoft, BD also is supporting healthcare startups in Israel.
The southeast U.S. is fast becoming a hotbed of growth and innovation – the region led the country in medtech employment and establishment growth from 2012 – 2014, according to the Southeastern Medical Device Association (SEMDA), a regional non-profit trade association that supports and promotes medical device companies.
“GCMI’s Medtech Accelerator represents a profound step forward for the medtech ecosystem in the southeastern United States,” says Jason Rupp, executive director of SEMDA. “It is precisely the kind of asset needed to increase regional medtech investment and maximize our local and regional resources’ capabilities to drive improvements in patient care and meaningful economic growth.”
GMCI has an existing agreement with West Tennessee Healthcare, one of the largest not-for-profit healthcare systems in the nation, to identify, develop and promote medical technology innovation in Jackson, TN. The establishment of a medtech accelerator with BD adds "a significant new asset to medtech development" in Atlanta, already a regional industry and academic research hub.
“From concept to development through clinical trials, the infrastructure needed to support successful medtech innovation resides within close proximity to our facilities,” says Tiffany Wilson, CEO of GCMI and its preclinical testing and training arm, T3 Labs. “Our new accelerator fills a gap in the ecosystem which now enables us to locally support high potential young medtech companies and the associated economics gains – including new jobs – to Atlanta and the southeast.”