If you're like most MedTech companies, you're focused on running your business. The problem is that the healthcare market is a moving target, which means what exists today will be different tomorrow. Changing regulations, shifting customers, increasing competition, and an onslaught of new technologies entering the healthcare marketplace are just some of the forces at work.
Focusing on only a single “go-to-market” strategy is putting all your eggs in one basket. Suppose you're blindsided by a competitor, or your key customers suddenly “disappear” because of new regulations. In that case, you wind up falling behind, leaving you scrambling to try and catch up to survive.
Effectively using your IP is no longer just something you can “get around to when you have time.” Competing in today's healthcare marketplace requires shifting from a closed competitive “make and sell” model to a collaborative “share and license” model. You must be agile and proactive in using your IP to open up more markets through licensing, joint development, strategic alliances, or cross-licensing.
Licensing is one of the best ways to get your device into the market faster, especially if you lack resources. Medical device R&D is becoming more technically complex, requiring many different technologies, and often faces the growing complexity of the regulatory approval process. The demand for innovation is shortening development timelines. Many of the largest medical device companies are moving out of R&D because they are too slow and are turning to licensing partnerships to fill their product pipelines.
Customers and markets don't wait for innovation. They're looking for it all the time, and when they find something that meets their needs, they buy it. But you don't have to wait. Through licensing, your med device can reach all your markets. You do it with licensing partners who provide all the money, expertise, and resources to make and sell it. Now your medical device or technology generates revenues from several markets instead of risking all your eggs in one basket.
Rand Brenner is an IP professional whose passion is helping inventors, startups, and businesses of all sizes use licensing to turn their IP into income-producing products, services, and technologies. His decades of experience run the gamut from medical devices to food technology to consumer products. He's licensed some of the biggest Hollywood entertainment blockbusters including the Batman Movies (1 and 2), and the number one kid's action TV show, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Rand speaks about licensing and is a featured speaker at investment conferences, trade shows, colleges, and startup events. His first book, Hidden Wealth: The Money Making Power of Licensing was released in 2019 and is available on Amazon.com. He's also a published writer with articles appearing in several prestigious trade magazine including The Licensing Journal, Intellectual Property Magazine, and License India. Rand also mentors at the Cal State Fullerton School of Business and Economics and is a judge for their startup business plan competitions.