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Global healthcare systems confound consumers and clinicians alike and cost more each year. Overall, we spend nearly US$10 trillion globally on healthcare with a wide disparity of access and outcomes.  Chronic health conditions are increasing in incidence and prevalence in developed and emerging markets, further taxing clinicians, payers and hospitals.  To serve growing populations of […]

I was delighted to speak at the 2015 European MedTech Forum. This event is always a great opportunity to   connect with old friends and colleagues and to be part of lively and innovative debates. This year, I had the opportunity to discuss the need for a new healthcare system in order to build a healthier […]

Most of the dialogue on cyber risk focuses on the adversaries and the threats they pose, often highlighting their sophistication, resources, and connections to nation states and organised crime. These are serious threats to society and its citizens, leading to increasing regulatory pressure on organisations to enhance their security posture. While this is an important […]

The medtech industry in Europe is made up almost uniquely of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). These have brought incredible innovations to patients, healthcare systems, the economy and society, and will continue to do so in the future. But if we put ever more data demands on these companies, in return, they need to be […]

2015 has been predicted, by many commentators, as the year that digital health will officially ‘’take off’’ due to increased consumer-wide acceptance, a growing array of digitally enabled health applications and increased investment levels. All of these factors are contributing to the cause for more and more leading consumer brands to enter into the digital […]

Europe is known for its excellent startup ecosystem. Moreover, the medtech industry in Europe is made up of 95% SMEs. If we want the innovation successes of past and present to continue well into the future, it is critical that the bigger medtech players, and the financial and investment ecosystem keep taking the pulse of European medtech startups.

In September 2013 I went for a truly inspirational bike trip across 5 countries, covering over 2100 km from Brussels to Barcelona. Many of my fellow cyclists were Type 1 diabetics and the trip was organized to give insight into how issues of interoperability can be resolved.
The fundamental problem facing people with diabetes (PWD) is keeping their Blood Glucose (BG) levels within a normal range. To do this PWD use devices to monitor their BG levels. These devices provide a reading that is then used to make therapeutic decisions such as taking insulin or treating a low reading by eating.

Europe’s medical device industry has always agreed that Europe’s regulatory system for devices needs to be improved and has put forward various proposals to achieve this. In the wake of a case of fraud like the PIP breast implant incident, it is clear that we need a safer system that makes sure Europe’s patients continue to have timely access to the latest life-saving and life-enhancing medical technologies.

Value creation capabilities based solely on R&D investment are not generating as much growth as they used to. According to PwC’s “Operating performance in the Medtech industry: Trends and imperatives” report, which studied the performance of 56 global medtech companies, the impact of R&D on revenue growth declined at an average annual rate of 10% and the return on invested capital declined at a rate of 2% between 2005 and 2011. The impact on growth is evident by revenue growth rates declining at a rate of approximately 12% per year.