Developing a medical, healthcare, or life sciences product? Here’s a R&D resource.

December 19, 2020 | by

Your Editor, as part of her reactivated marketing consulting work, speaks with various companies across the (primarily US) healthcare spectrum. Earlier this week, I was introduced to the work of MIDI Product Development, a research and development consultancy since 1972 for medical, life sciences, and healthcare products. Their proprietary DevelopmentDNA™ innovation and design control approach to product development performs for the client the research, design, and engineering, taking into account technical/IP, regulatory compliance (FDA Class I, II, III), manufacturing, and human usability requirements. Their products are diverse in, for instance, imaging, tabletop units, ‘lab on a chip’, LASIK surgical systems, MRI, and PET scanners. In this time of pandemic, they have developed a Rapid SARS-CoV-2 Device/Disposable, a Disinfection Fogging Device to combat HAIs (Hospital Acquired Infections) and COVID-19 in hospitals and beyond healthcare environments, and a UVC-LED System to combat HAIs from spreading room-to-room via foot traffic.

In speaking with Gregory Montalbano, one of the two principals with his brother Chris, they are interested in working with diverse health technology companies, including home healthcare. The company is located near New York City in Smithtown, Long Island, and, unlike many consultancies that rent out labs, they have their own 15,000 square foot facility. MIDI has worked with companies in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia/Pacific. Their website is linked above including their contact information. We’d be pleased if you mention that you read about them in TTA. Or contact Editor Donna in confidence.

UK HealthTech Conference, Cardiff, 6 December (UK)

November 16, 2016 | by

6 December, Mercure House Hotel, Cardiff, Wales

Exploring critical strategic trends in both health tech and biotech is this full day conference in Cardiff that is expected to have 300 participants. This year’s conference theme is patient safety. Keynote speaker is John Wilkinson, Director of MHRA. Full information, speaker and programme information, registration and sponsorship starts here. Hat tip to Dr Malcolm Fisk (@malcolmjf) via Twitter.

Google’s Verily rolls along. Bumpily? (updated)

April 6, 2016 | by

Several articles of late have reported on the Google Alphabet life sciences company Verily. By fall last year, they had developed partnerships with Novartis-Alcon on development of a smart contact lens (for measuring glucose), plus Dexcom, Abbvie and Biogen. STAT, a health/medicine news website owned by Boston Globe Media which is still in beta, has a well-researched article that details, seemingly with a lot of inside scoop, its current turmoil. 12 top engineering and science executives have taken a powder. Some of the execs date back to the Google X days; most have fled back to Mother Google, others to Amazon or to life sciences competitors. STAT: “No similar brain drain has occurred at Calico, another ambitious Google spinoff, which is focused on increasing the human lifespan.” The reasons are the apparently abrasive CEO Andrew Conrad, depicted as ambitious, fickle and moody–and the constant shifting of support from approved projects to short-term initiatives ‘that show little promise’. Google’s bold bid to transform medicine hits turbulence.

Update: STAT published today information on a possible conflict of interest in Verily awarding a short-term research contract to a luxury health clinic, California Health & Longevity Institute, where Dr Conrad holds a majority ownership. According to the publication, it has no documented experience with this kind of work. The clinic will gather, in a 200-person ‘feasibility study’ for the larger Baseline study, genetic, molecular, clinical, and other data. According to Dr Conrad, it was done “Because I think it’s cool. Because it’s super efficient to have everything in one spot.” What may not be cool to the participants is that Baseline is already planning to sell the data to pharmaceutical companies–with patient consent, of course, in a document not yet public. Google’s biotech venture hit by ethical concerns

Alphabet action versus diabetes with Life Sciences’ contact lens and Sanofi

September 1, 2015 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/google-contacts_1401174_616.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /] Monday’s Big Story. As previously reported [TTA 25 Aug], the new Google holding company Alphabet is bringing the Life Sciences group formerly under Google X into its own company, with a new name TBD. On Monday, Life Sciences and Paris-based pharma Sanofi announced a partnership on projects related to diabetes monitoring and treatment. According to BioSpace, “at least part of the partnership will be focusing on helping Life Sciences create small, Internet-based devices that either automatically adjust insulin levels, or make suggestions based on real-time monitoring. ”

Clearly Life Sciences’ raison d’etre includes a focus on this disease, others that may relate to it, and in developing devices that others may market. Your Editors have been tracking their research for well over a year. A roundup of Life Sciences’ partnerships include more than diabetes:

**Novartis division Alcon for the glucose sensing contact lens [TTA 17 July 14, patent report 27 Mar 15 ]

** DexCom to develop a Band-Aid sized wearable for glucose monitoring, announced 15 August

**A 10 year deal with Abbvie for age-related disease exploration (which relates to the accelerated aging associated with diabetes)

**Biogen for multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments

We continue to have doubts about the practicality of the contact lens and the viability of embedded sensors in lenses, as the eyes are extremely sensitive and especially vulnerable for those with diabetes. But directionally on this disease, which is expanding almost uncontrollably worldwide, the research and devices which Life Sciences can develop for a variety of companies looks promising. Business Insider, Re/Code, Digital Trends