Join K. Angela Macfarlane as she interviews Ridhi Tariyal, CEO of NextGen Jane (www.nextgenjane.com), about her mission to transform women’s health through interrogating the “menstrualome”—using genomics to guide therapies for endometriosis and also allow less invasive pre-natal testing—and her career path and the role that mentorship has played in her journey. Among other topics like fundraising and patient engagement, they will discuss the Ferolyn Fellowship and how it supports rising medtech leaders with a strong passion and aptitude to transform healthcare.

Following a distinguished career at prominent medtech companies like Guidant and Intersect ENT, Lisa Earnhardt is now Executive Vice President of Abbott’s medical device business, one of the industry leaders in areas such as cardiovascular devices and diagnostics. In this interview, Lisa will share insights gained during her years as a medtech entrepreneur and industry leader, talk about running a major medtech franchise during a global health crisis, and offer her thoughts on where Abbott and the industry are going as we slowly emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.

SVB—Medtech by the Numbers

Join Jonathan Norris from Silicon Valley Bank and Jed Cohen from SVB Securities as they look back at 2021’s medtech fundraising and deal successes. In addition, learn how 2022 is shaping up for medtech companies looking to access venture capital, corporate partners, and the public market.

Venture Capital Panel

Last year was a great year for medtech companies to raise capital—but it seems like the investment market may be cooling. Hear from a group of active medtech investors as they talk about their recent investments and how they look at the opportunities in today’s market. Are investors pulling back? Is new investment activity slowing down? Learn how some investors are adapting their financing strategies and business models to accommodate the changing realities and positioning themselves for long-term success.

Medical robotics is an emerging field in medtech and healthtech with the markets for surgical robots, exoskeletons and hospital robots. While major manufacturers are increasing their research and development efforts within robotic surgical systems, many are aiming to acquire startup companies externally. We will explore this exciting and emerging trend in the market.

From artificial intelligence (AI) platforms having machine learning (ML) trained for the early detection of cancer to ML trained to process medical images to identify disease, AI platforms are being used increasingly in the medtech space for various actionable uses to improve patient outcome. AI-powered platforms have been increasingly adopted by healthcare professionals to diagnose and monitor complex physiological conditions, such as breast cancer, a broad spectrum of skin conditions and acute kidney injury. Join a panel of founders / executives in a discussion of how they are harnessing AI.

Early Investing

Join a group of angel organizations as they discuss the inner workings of the angel world. Find out about areas of interest in Medtech typical deal terms as well as the process and timing involved in closing an angel round.

Medtech Branding and Advertising

The medical device marketplace is increasingly competitive, making it challenging to promote new products in ways that are distinctive and that don’t run afoul of legal restrictions. How can companies best name and promote their products to communicate innovations, differentiate themselves competitively, and clear legal hurdles in the U.S. and abroad?

University Licensing and Clinical Resources

This session will feature a discussion among university leaders from UC Irvine, UCLA, and Wilson Sonsini’s Katharine Ku, who formerly led Stanford’s office of technology licensing. Come learn about the resources and innovation that these world-class universities have to offer the medical device industry. Also learn about key provisions of university licenses and the varying levels of importance to each party.

AI in Healthcare (Part 2): Revolutionizing Patient Care

AI is revolutionizing patient care. Advances in AI have led many to anticipate that AI will play a dominant (if not unilateral) role in the future of patient care, such as radiology and surgery. The power of AI for the accurate processing and classification of data is being harnessed in various applications surrounding patient care. This panel of founders / executives will discuss how these and other innovations are overcoming technological and adoption barriers to usher in a new era of AI-powered care.

Join David Cassak from the MedTech Strategist and Josh Makower from Stanford Biodesign for a discussion on medtech reimbursement and related policy issues focused on improving patient access to important new technologies that can save lives.

Hiring and Compensating the CEO

Join a group of compensation experts as they look at recent trends and emerging best practices in medtech executive compensation. Participate in a discussion around current salary, as well as stock and bonus structures for management. Learn about the structure and pitfalls associated with carve-out plans and innovative ways to provide management teams with compensation for successful exits. Finally, learn what executive recruiters are looking for in a resume and how networking skills can help you land your next great job.

Medtech Company Creation: Fogarty Innovation, The Foundry, and Shifamed

Join representatives from Fogarty Innovation, The Foundry, and Shifamed as they discuss the process they go through to Identify, start, fund and develop a new medical device project. Learn about some of their past successes, things that worked, and things that didn’t.

Patient Access Restrictions to Medical Device Innovation

Patient access to medical device innovations is directly tied to approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and adequate insurance coverage by commercial and government payors, such as Medicare/Medicaid. Reimbursement by third-party insurers and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is a crucial component for patient access, as providers are reluctant to use treatments that are not covered by insurance or CMS. However, FDA approval of breakthrough devices is often not supported by long-term safety, efficacy, or patient outcome data, which are critical in establishing the “medically reasonable and necessary” standard to which payors are bound in order to cover a treatment. In turn, a lack of adequate coverage can significantly impact a physician’s decision to use the device and provide a patient access to a breakthrough treatment. Recent policy and legislative proposals have highlighted the need for more timely CMS coverage for devices approved through the FDA’s breakthrough program.

This panel will discuss the FDA’s successful device breakthrough program and the recent policy/legislative proposals for CMS to provide more timely coverage decisions for devices that have obtained breakthrough status.

Medtech IPOs and Cross-Over Funding

Join a panel of experts as they look back at 2021 in terms of public capital markets for medtech companies. The group will explore how the Class of 2021 has fared in the public market and what the market for late-stage and public funding will look like in 2022 and beyond.

Strategic Use of Patents as a Sword or a Shield

The panel will address questions often asked by early-to-mid stage C-Suite executives about how to use the Company’s patents to most effectively: (1) stake out and defend the Company’s novel technology; and (2) avoid costly missteps and put the Company in the best position to defend against future accusations of infringement.

Medtech Collaborations

This panel will explore the world of medtech strategic collaborations. Learn about the process from first meeting to signed contract, and hear about the various structures these transactions can take. Understand what brings each party to the bargaining table and what each party hopes to gain. Hear about the key bargaining issues and how differences are narrowed to allow the transaction to proceed and eventually close.

Better Together: How Digital Connection Is Reshaping Medtech

Join leading medtech innovators to discuss why digital connection is disrupting the medtech industry, and how to find your place in the healthcare ecosystem of tomorrow. This panel will discuss how COVID-19 rapidly accelerated our expectations that virtual connection can deliver more, better, and economical care. During this pandemic period, what had been viewed as intransigent obstacles to connected health shifted abruptly, leaving a relatively open path for adoption of connected care products. Our panelists will discuss how investors and other key stakeholders view medtech’s opportunity in this transformative moment to change healthcare for the better.

Japan Medtech Investments and Collaborations

Japan is a major investor in and acquirer of medical device start-ups, and represents a major source of investment capital. Come learn about the ways in which Japan and start-ups are collaborating to finance and develop advanced medical technologies. Meet the representatives of Japanese companies located in Silicon Valley who are looking for new opportunities.

Medtech M&A

While the world has been focused on the medtech IPO market in 2022, the M&A market was not idle. Join this panel to learn about recent medtech M&A activity and how deal terms are evolving.

Join us in celebrating the 10th year of MedTech Innovator at Wilson Sonsini’s Annual Conference. Now the largest accelerator of medical technology in the world, MedTech Innovator has produced 420 alumni who have raised over $4 billion in follow-on funding and brought more than 100 products to market. You will get the chance to choose a winner from four of the most exciting companies in the 2022 cohort, selected from over 1,000 applicants. Each company will present their pitches to a panel of industry judges. The judges will evaluate the presentations and provide feedback to each company. Ultimately, the audience will vote for the winner who will receive a cash prize and be profiled in an upcoming issue of MedTech Strategist.

Join Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati for wine tasting after the conference. We will be sampling wines from various wineries, with venture capitalists serving as your sommeliers for the event. This is your chance to try some great wine and learn a little bit more about what each of our local venture firms is looking for in its next deal. It’s a great pairing—wine with a venture capital twist.