Innovation strategies in the medical device industry recap

Todd Benni and Mark Masterson, Members of McDonald Hopkins’ Intellectual Property Department, recently moderated the third installment of the inaugural IP+ Innovation Webinar Series, which featured a panel of leaders in the medical device industry discussing how they managed to stay innovative during the COVID pandemic and what challenges and opportunities they feel will materialize post pandemic. McDonald Hopkins would like to thank our esteemed panelists, Maria Bennett, President and CEO of SPR Therapeutics; Harry Rowland Co-founder and CEO at Endotronix; and John Zak who leads executive management for three different Cleveland-based medical technology start-ups: XaTek, TecTraum and BioChip Labs. Maria, Harry and John did a tremendous job using their years of experience in the industry to provide insight, and we encourage entrepreneurs in the medical technology industry to listen to their advice regarding innovation. 

A particularly enlightening part of the discussion focused on how innovation is an integral part of each company’s culture. The panelists provided great insight on building this culture and maintaining it through growth.

John talked about the importance of having a team that has diverse backgrounds and diverse ideas. He indicated that it is important to have these different perspectives to build an effective culture of innovation that drives success.

Harry talked about “embracing the tension” in developing a culture of innovation. He told us that innovation is hard and advised that folks willing to embrace the tension that comes with market challenges are able to better overcome challenges and thrive under this tension. This was key to building a culture of innovation.

Maria discussed having a staff with “positive paranoia” to build a culture of innovation. She told us that she looks for people that understand the positives in the difficult innovation process and that embrace the challenges associated with the medical device industry. She talked about how this “positive paranoia” has help lead to the success of SPR Therapeutics.

If you attended this session and have questions that did not get addressed in the panel discussion, please email events@mcdonaldhopkins.com and we will get back to you with an answer. If you missed the program on March 25, click here to access the on-demand recording.