At the institutional level, healthcare researchers, inventors and entrepreneurs are working hard to match a clinical unmet need with breakthrough science and technology, and to translate this into a unique and compelling product crammed with innovation, novelty and value potential.
Creating viable product concepts in and of itself is not a simple task. Scientists need to come together with engineers and businesspeople and identify a product that is makeable and sellable.
Creating these multi-disciplined teams is not simple or obvious. McGill’s Surgical Innovation Program, since its inauguration in 2014, has been piloting and refining such a model. They’ve succeeded in creating six new sustainable companies as part of Quebec’s MedTech Ecosystem over that timeframe.
Each year, up to eight new teams (comprising MD’s, engineers, scientists and MBA’s/entrepreneurs) are formed and new MedTech initiatives are spawned and incubated within the program.
Says program director, Dr. Jake Barralet: “It’s a huge team effort, from the clinicians and nurses, hospital and university scientists, business experts and entrepreneurs, all working to create the conditions for successful MedTech innovation so that tomorrow’s patients will be better served. It is very rewarding seeing students becoming needs-centric and developing as a competitive and highly capable team”.
What’s next?
How do we effectively translate these technologies and product concepts into business opportunities?
Only recently has Quebec started to focus on novel ways of accelerating start-ups through their critical early stages. But they’ve become very good at it in this short period of time.
Some of have been “agnostic” as to the origins of the start-ups and their respective technologies (such as Centech and Techstars), and others are dedicated acceleration services such as District 3 and TransMedTech, which are directly affiliated with their institutional sources. Some are highly focused (TransMedTech in medical devices and Techstars in AI), while others have a broader appeal across all technology sectors (Centech and District 3, ACET, Entrepreneuriat Laval).
Each of these accelerators has focused on particular core competencies. As an example, TransMedTech creates a highly interactive environment between the clinical users and the biomedical engineering skills within the Institute. MEDTEQ leads the way for its continuum of support starting at the institutional level and continuing through to equity investment support. Techstars has built one of the most sophisticated and comprehensive mentoring ecosystems. Centech, through its two-stage program of acceleration and propulsion, has nurtured an environment of workshops and networking highly conducive to building entrepreneurial business teams.
All of Quebec’s accelerators have one common purpose and goal: to create a fertile and productive ecosystem within which young entrepreneurs can flourish.
While methods and processes differ amongst the accelerators, their overall contribution to entrepreneurship, the innovation process, and the MedTech industry as a whole is highly valuable.