Amy Siegel, Co-founder S2N
In the first week of August, the MedTech Center of Excellence hosted Amy Siegel, co-founder of S2N a MedTech consultancy and software company. Amy has been involved in MassMedic and a board member of IGNITE a state sponsored entity designed to help MedTech start-ups chart their path forward. We engaged Amy in a “fireside chat” discussion to gain her unique perspective on a number of topics including the MedTech innovation ecosystem, the differences between biopharma and MedTech, and the future of the industry.
After an introductory discussion with Charles Mathews, Managing Director, we shifted to a question and answer format in which CV team members asked several compelling questions. Amy was able to provide some key insights which we wanted to share with CVN readers:
- Given an increasing role of Value Assessment Committees and focus on the cost to value ratio for novel MedTech invocation, the landscape of device sales has shifted dramatically in the past few years with devices now required to meet a high bar to demonstrate value as a premium product, rather than the relationships-based sales paradigm that existed historically
- An examination of the evolving role of data in MedTech both in terms of identifying and engaging physicians users of technology but also tracking patient outcomes and product impact
- Like many other industries, MedTech is in the midst of a shift towards consumer-focused products (e.g., wearables, sleep trackers) which may alter the landscape in the coming years
- Products in the MedTech space can be iterated following launch, though that can add uncertainty for regulators (i.e., When is the bar for approval met intially? What device changes need to be reviewed? How will we know the product will be better in the future?
- Three simple questions can be used to evaluate the majority of start-ups: ‘why this?’, ‘why you?’, and ‘why now?’ with a strong answer for all three necessary for success during the angel/venture capital process
