Many physicians lament the difficulties of bringing innovative medical products to market, but it is important to remember that innovations will only be successful if they have a large impact on how medicine is practiced.  New technologies must strive to create a new standard of care, and their benefits compared to existing products must be great enough to compensate for costs associated with product development, clinical trials, and user education.

In the medical industry, doctors are responsible for the majority of innovative products.  One study, for example, found that twenty-two percent of leading surgeons are innovators.  It is also worth observing that devices and treatments conceived by physicians usually have a greater impact on the market than do devices conceived by non-physicians.  Ninety-nine out of Medtronic’s top hundred products, for example, were invented by physicians.  The idea of a lone physician inventor, however, is a myth.  For an idea to become a marketable product, a team of scientists and businesspeople must be brought together to work on the project.  Past results suggest that projects should be planned in reverse, meaning that clear clinical goals should be identified and that products should be built around these goals.  As Yogi Berra said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you might end up somewhere else.”

Pitching ideas to investors can be difficult for physicians who do not understand the perspective of venture capital.  Venture capitalists think of products as either incremental advances or as breakthroughs.  In many cases, incremental advances will only be profitable if they are incorporated into the product line of an existing company.  When making decisions, venture capitalists consider two main factors: the potential payoff and the time needed to obtain the payoff.  Products that can be quickly brought to market are more attractive to venture capitalists than products that will take many years to become marketable.  For this speedy development to be accomplished, the entire developmental process must be very disciplined.

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