TLDR:
Medtech venture capitalist Maria Berkman shared insights into the medtech investment space at a recent conference, highlighting the following key points:
- Medtech investment is a niche with less than 100 venture funds focusing on it.
- Medtech VCs are dedicated and celebrate clinical wins over financial ones.
She also emphasized the differences between medtech VCs and tech VCs, stressing the need for a more measured approach to risk in the medtech space. Success in medtech investment takes time, with products taking 12-20 years to get approved and generate revenue.
Full Article:
The medical technology investment space is relatively small, with less than 100 venture funds exclusively focusing on medtech, according to medtech venture capitalist Maria Berkman. Speaking at the Heart Rhythm Society’s HRX conference, Berkman shared insights into the niche ecosystem of medtech investment.
Berkman highlighted the dedication of medtech VCs, emphasizing their passion for treating the sickest patients and celebrating clinical wins over financial gains. She noted that medtech VCs do not follow the same fast-paced innovation strategy as tech VCs because they work with patients and approach risk more cautiously.
Success in medtech investment takes time, with an average of 12-20 years for a startup to get its product approved and start generating revenue. Berkman shared a success story from her portfolio, the FDA-approved Evoque tricuspid valve replacement system from Edwards Lifesciences, which her venture fund first invested in 2009 and received approval in February of this year.
