Overcoming The Bias Against Medtech Entrepreneurship In Europe: An Interview With Martin Rothman

Nearly everyone in the medical device industry acknowledges the role physicians play in medtech innovation. In the US, the connection has led to the breeding of a special kind of executive: the physician-entrepreneur, a person trained in medicine who moves successfully into the world of industry and company creation. But historically in Europe, the connection has more often led in the opposite direction. More than just uncomfortable with the idea of mixing clinical practice and entrepreneurship, European physicians for many years actively discouraged and stigmatized colleagues who ventured into company creation. Interventional cardiologist, entrepreneur, and now big-company executive Martin Rothman, MD, has a long history nurturing not just new ideas for medical devices but also the companies that launch them, and he himself experienced the unforgiving looks and, early on, rarely shared with colleagues what he was doing in what might be called the more entrepreneurial side of device innovation.

In more recent years, Rothman has turned 180 degrees and now spends part of his time advising young would-be physician-entrepreneurs...