Every industry is feeling the impact of COVID-19, and in particular, healthcare is one of the most impacted industries. COVID-19 has put the MedTech industry at center stage. The pandemic is forcing healthcare to adopt remote services for consumers quickly. From disease detection, diagnostics, and treatment, to remote home care, Companies of all sizes are quickly developing new technologies, updating their current technologies, or scrambling to find outside innovation to meet this immense market demand.
But many large companies and government agencies can’t move fast enough to develop the innovation required. That’s why they are turning to partnerships with startups to fill the gaps in their product pipelines. Speed to market is now the priority, and finding COVID solutions faster, cheaper, and high-quality market-ready technologies is their focus.
Companies outside the healthcare market are also switching part of their production to meet critical products such as ventilators. The sudden and urgent need for these has meant that other industries, including automotive and major electronics manufacturers such as Tesla, Ford, GM, Dyson, and Apple, have stepped up to fill the demand for medical devices. And some of these consumer companies are using this opportunity to quickly enter the medical device market in the long run. Since they don’t have their medical technology, they are using licensing to acquire it.
Now is the time to make licensing part of your go-to-market strategy. The healthcare industry is more complex and competitive than its ever been. Starting and growing a med-tech business in this environment is even more challenging, especially when raising capital. And the skyrocketing demand for innovation, especially COVID-related, is sending many of the largest medical device companies scrambling to find devices to fill their product pipelines.
That’s why licensing is an ideal strategy for this pandemic-driven market. Partnering with a larger company with the production, distribution, and sales resources already in place mean they can quickly enter the marketplace and capitalize on your technology. And that is creating a tremendous licensing opportunity for startups in the Medtech space.
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.