Device Investors Look for Gains in Pain

In 2009, investors quietly invested in seven different start-ups develoipng devices for pain. Why the sudden interest? Interventional pain is on the rise as a specialty, large numbers of patients with chronic pain need better therapies, and relative to other emerging device sectors, pain offers large markets but lower clinical, regulatory and market risks.

Venture capitalists have endured their fair share of pain over recent years, at least in a financial sense. But their discomfort completely pales in comparison to those millions of people across the globe who must endure the misery of chronic pain or suffer from the side effects of the drugs they take to relieve it. So it's fitting that venture device investors might find relief from their own fiscal and regulatory misery by investing in companies that someday might help those people forced to life with the real thing.

Venture capitalists clearly see huge potential. In the past year, according to Elsevier's Strategic Transactions, 20 pharmaceutical companies and seven...

Read the full article – start your free trial today!

Join thousands of industry professionals who rely on Medtech Insight for daily insights

  • Start your 7-day free trial
  • Explore trusted news, analysis, and insights
  • Access comprehensive global coverage
  • Enjoy instant access – no credit card required

More from Archive

Final Chance To Have Your Say: Take Our Reader Survey This Week

 
• By 

Editor’s note: This is your final call to participate in the survey to better understand our subscribers’ content and delivery needs. The deadline is 20 September.

Shape Our Content: Take The Reader Survey

 
• By 

Editor’s note: We are conducting a survey to better understand our subscribers’ content and delivery needs. If there are any changes you’d like to see in coverage topics, content format or the method in which you receive and access Medtech Insight, or if you love it how it is, now is the time to have your voice heard.

Patients With Movement Disorders Will Benefit From Medtronic’s Expanded MRI Labeling For DBS

 
• By 

Medtronic announced it received expanded MRI labeling for its DBS systems, which is critical, given that almost 70% of all DBS-eligible patients will likely need an MRI at some point in their care, says Ashwini Sharan, CMO for Medtronic Neuromodulation.

Podcast: Lung Life AI CEO Shares Regulatory And Reimbursement Journey For Lung Cancer Diagnostic

 

In this episode, Medtech Insight reporter Natasha Barrow speaks to LungLife AI CEO Paul Pagano. Lung Life AI is a US-based AIM-listed medical technology company that has developed a liquid biopsy test for the early detection of lung cancer called Lung LB. Pagano runs through the highlights of Lung Life AI journey to date and its future ambition for a strategic partnership. He also provides advice to similar diagnostic companies seeking reimbursement andcompliance with the US FDA Lab Developed Test ruling.

More from Medtech Insight

Even ‘Small’ Leaks After Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion Raises Stroke Risk, Study Finds

 

A Japanese study of Watchman LAA closure devices found that leaks of any size after implantation raise the risk of stroke. The study comes shortly after the US FDA issued an early alert for the Watchman access systems.

23andMe Genetic Tests Among 12 New FDA Classifications

 
• By 

A late-August batch of device classifications from the US FDA includes genetic tests from 23andMe, hand-held spinal surgery tools, and several IVDs.

German Hospital Reform Risks Spiraling Out Of Control

 
• By 

Amendments to Germany’s – barely in force – health reform law will be decided after the summer break. The new DRGs payments plan and service groups will be reviewed, but critics fear for the law’s future.