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Here’s our medtech events calendar for 2024

The show floor was bustling in May 2023 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center during DeviceTalks Boston and its companion Robotics Summit & Expo. The events drew nearly 4,000 people. [Image courtesy of Jeff Pinette for WTWH Media]

Medtech events have a new energy to them after the COVID-19 pandemic as industry insiders once again seek opportunities for in-person networking and learning.

Here are medtech events that we’ll be following and attending in 2024, including our own DeviceTalks conferences and expos.

JPM Annual Healthcare Conference (JPM 2024) Jan. 8–11, 2024 The Westin St. Francis San Francisco 2024.jpmhealthcareconference.org

CES 2024 Jan. 9–12, 2024 Las Vegas www.ces.tech

MD&M West Feb. 6–8, 2024 Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, California www.imengineeringwest.com

AAOS 2024 Annual Meeting Feb. 12–16, 2024 Moscone Center San Francisco www.aaos.org/…

Evevo Manufacturing launches in Minnesota

NEWS RELEASE: New medical device contract manufacturer launches to serve emerging medical device companies in Minnesota’s Medical Alley.

Minneapolis – Nov. 28, 2023 – Visura Technologies, a privately owned medical device company based in Minneapolis, and YKK Corp. of America, a subsidiary of Japan-based YKK Corporation, today announced the launch of Evevo Manufacturing, a new joint venture committed to serving emerging medical device companies in the Minneapolis ecosystem.

The unique relationship between the leadership teams of YKK and Visura Technologies led to the creation of the joint venture. Evevo Manufacturing is jointly owned by YKK and Visura.

“Evevo Manufacturing’s focus will be on supporting startup and emerging medical device companies that often have a difficult time finding and keeping the attention of the contract manufacturing partners,” said Irvin Pierskalla, VP of operations at Evevo Manufacturing. “The entire Evevo team has extensive experienc…

gBETA Medtech accelerator picks its next startups

The gBETA Medtech virtual accelerator today named the five startups that will participate in the spring program leading up to the June 21 showcase day.

“We’re so fortunate to have such a diverse set of founders with expertise across the healthcare continuum,” gBETA Medtech Director KC Caine said in a news release. “Our founders are bringing high-impact innovations to the sector, and we’re excited to see how their companies grow.”

gBETA is a program of startup accelerator Gener8tor and the University Enterprise Labs business incubator in St. Paul, Minnesota, with mentorship support from Mayo Clinic, the University of Minnesota and Medical Alley Association. The program’s founding sponsor is Boston Scientific; UEL and Gener8tor also get support through a cooperative agreement with BARDA DRIVe.

Get the full story at our sister site, Medical Design & Outsourcing.

Deadline nears for gBETA Medtech startup accelerator

The gBETA program for medtech startups is seeking applicants from across the globe on or before March 14 for its spring session.

The seven-week gBETA Medtech virtual accelerator runs April 18 through June 14. gBETA is a program of startup accelerator Gener8tor and the University Enterprise Labs business incubator in St. Paul, Minnesota, with support from Mayo Clinic, the University of Minnesota, Medical Alley Association and founding sponsor Boston Scientific.

Up to five startups will be selected for the medtech program, which covers medical devices, diagnostics, healthcare software, biotechnology, drug discovery and delivery and more.

Get the full story at our sister site, Medical Design & Outsourcing.

Medical Alley appoints new CEO

The Medical Alley Association announced today that it appointed Roberta Dressen as its new president & CEO.

Dressen takes over the position previously held by Shaye Mandle since 2014 before he announced his departure for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) in February. Steffen Hovard served as interim CEO in the time since then.

Get the full story at our sister site, MassDevice.

Medical Alley appoints new CEO

The Medical Alley Association announced today that it appointed Roberta Dressen as its new president & CEO.

Dressen takes over the position previously held by Shaye Mandle since 2014 before he announced his departure for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) in February. Steffen Hovard served as interim CEO in the time since then.

Hovard will stay on board over the next several weeks to assist with the transition as Dressen will officially begin her new role next week, according to a news release.

“The Medical Alley Association has a strong reputation of leadership and innovation,” Dressen said in the release. “I look forward to joining MAA and partnering with other global healthcare leaders to find ways to better serve our members and stimulate collaboration around how we can bridge current gaps in the healthcare industry.”

Dressen holds nearly two decades of leadership experience with some of Medical Alley’s notable healthcar…

Medical Alley launches startup accelerator

Minnesota’s Medical Alley Association announced that it launched an accelerator for early-stage healthcare startup companies.

Medical Alley Starts is described in its subsection of the Medical Alley website as a focused initiative and suite of services targeted at accelerating healthcare startup formation and growth in Minnesota’s Medical Alley region.

The accelerator is led by eight entrepreneurs: Highland Circle Innovations managing director Morgan Clyburn, Visana Health CEO joe Connolly, Jodi Hubler, Rebiotix founder & CEO Lee Jones, Amplio Rx CEO James Kent, Bright Health co-founder Kyle Rolfing, Baird Capital partner Nicole Walker and Capita3 founding general partner & managing director Pam York.

Medical Alley aims to use the accelerator to connect startups to investors and corporate leaders, offer rapid access to critical resources and offer a connection to the association’s national branding campaign.

The associati…

Mandle to leave Medical Alley

Shaye Mandle

Shaye Mandle, who has led Minnesota’s Medical Alley Association since 2014, is leaving the medtech trade group for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) in Washington, D.C.

Mandle will join BIO as COO on March 1 after nearly 10 years at Medical Alley, first as COO and VP of government relations and then as president & CEO.

Steffen Hovard, former chair of the Medical Alley board of directors, is returning to serve as the organization’s interim president & CEO. Medical Alley will conduct a national search to select Mandle’s successor, according to a news release.

Get the full story on our sister site, Medical Design & Outsourcing.

Medical Alley startups raise $1.4B

The Medical Alley Association announced that its startups recorded a record-setting year with $1.4 billion in fundraising in 2020.

Having broken the $1 billion barrier in 2019, the region topped that mark by the third quarter, raising nearly another half-million by the end of the year, according to a news release.

Bright Health and Bind Benefits, two health plan startups, along with Minneapolis-based Preventice Solutions — a developer of mobile health solutions and remote monitoring service for cardiac arrhythmias which was recently acquired by Boston Scientific — led the way in funding.

Preventice’s $137 million raised in 2020 topped medical device companies belonging to the region, while Bright raised a $500 million Series E to lead all Medical Alley companies.

Medical Alley’s device industry in total raised over $507 million. Relievant Medsystems followed Preventice at $70 million raised, while CVRx Inc. at $50 million and HistoSoni…

How the presidential election could affect medtech

No matter who ends up in the White House, there will need to be a reckoning over how the government’s relationship with medtech has changed, according to industry insiders.

(Image by Markus Winkler on Unsplash)

It’s been a tumultuous few years for the medical device industry, with highs and lows that no one could have foreseen.

President Donald Trump’s administration streamlined some FDA processes. The medical device excise tax, enacted during the Obama-Biden administration, was permanently repealed.

But any normal state of affairs in the industry was upended by the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19 disrupted supply chains, brought elective surgeries to a halt and attracted all sorts of businesses to jump into an industry that they knew nothing about. The pandemic also brought about unprecedented cooperation within medtech and betw…

Medical Alley startups achieve ‘relatively normal’ funding despite pandemic

Medical Alley Association member startups pulled in more than $256 million in funding through June, signaling a “relatively normal” first half of the year 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic and battered economy, according to the Minnesota-based trade group.

In total, 40 companies raised $256,406,357 in the first 6 months of the year. The $1.75 million median raise falls behind last year’s record $1.99 million as the second highest median raise for a first half in the last 5 years, indicative of a class of companies that took earlier-stage rounds in previous years and have successfully grown and matured.

Get the full story on our sister site, Medical Design & Outsourcing.