10 Key MedTech Themes for 2024

Rising innovation in, and client demand for, healthcare know-how proceed to rework the Medtech trade, together with in digital well being, wearables, diagnostics, telemedicine and different well being IT options. MedTech innovators are working collaboratively with world regulators and policymakers to leverage such improvements to extend entry to value-based care whereas navigating a rising patchwork of legal guidelines and regulatory steering the world over.  Listed here are ten world

Medtech themes we’re monitoring within the coming yr:

• Continued concentrate on digital tuck-in acquisitions in Medtech M&A

The difficult macroenvironment, marked by funding challenges, valuation declines and a near-shut IPO market, raised expectations for rising Medtech M&A exercise in 2023. Nevertheless, this previous yr continued to see fewer and smaller offers, most of which concerned tuck-in acquisitions of smaller firms that might be simply built-in into consumers’ present infrastructure, versus considerably sized takeovers and mergers.  We count on the tempo of Medtech acquisitions to choose up in 2024, as Medtech targets proceed to expertise shrinking valuations and divest their non-core belongings. We additional count on acquirors to capitalize on the decrease valuations to achieve or increase their Medtech capabilities, notably in areas comparable to telehealth and well being IT that proceed to revolutionize healthcare supply.

• New regular in Medtech funding

The Medtech trade is coming into a brand new regular of diminished funding and deal quantity after hitting report highs in 2021 fuelled by the shift to telehealth and distant affected person monitoring applied sciences in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.  In 2024, we count on to see a continued shift in Medtech funding in direction of digital well being services that help advanced illness remedy, non-clinical workflow and value-based care.  We count on Medtech firms that may hyperlink income to profitable affected person outcomes to proceed to seize a good portion of Medtech enterprise funding, notably in high-cost therapeutic areas comparable to behavioral well being.

• Strategic AI-driven Medtech collaborations

This previous yr noticed Medtech firms persevering with to construct collaborative partnerships with different gamers within the digital healthcare ecosystem.  Collaborations between Medtech firms and digital answer suppliers have gotten more and more frequent as each the Medtech and know-how industries search to leverage AI/ML and different cutting-edge applied sciences to develop and improve diagnostic instruments and coverings. Within the coming yr, we count on Medtech firms to proceed to accomplice with tech and AI firms to develop revolutionary options in addition to successfully harness wider swimming pools of real-world affected person knowledge to extract insights that may be utilized to ship significant scientific outcomes.

• Continued scrutiny by antitrust and competitors authorities

Medtech firms have continued to face scrutiny from world antitrust regulators all through 2023, and we count on that scrutiny to proceed all through subsequent yr. Particularly, we count on the anticipated adoption of the AI Act (the European Fee, the Council and the Parliament reached political settlement on the provisional guidelines that may comprise the European Union’s Synthetic Intelligence Act, with additional negotiations to return on the technical components of the Act earlier than ultimate adoption) to have a major impression on the continuing use and improvement of AI-based options within the trade. Corporations that develop or function medical units will turn out to be topic to far-reaching necessities, together with the necessity to make vital knowledge disclosures to nationwide competitors authorities in Europe, in addition to the European Fee.  Additional, world antitrust regulators stay keenly centered on knowledge, together with who has entry to knowledge, how firms use or may use that knowledge, and whether or not that knowledge offers firms market energy. We count on this focus to be of accelerating relevance within the Medtech sector because the utility of AI continues to intently correlate with, and depend upon, getting access to top quality knowledge.

• Rising significance of knowledge privateness and safety

We count on to see continued regulatory consideration on the processing and use of non-public knowledge, notably well being knowledge, by digital well being firms.  The FTC, particularly, has ramped up its enforcement actions on this context, together with by asserting proposed orders towards BetterHelp, GoodRx and different firms, in addition to its plans to strengthen its Well being Breach Notification Rule.  Current knowledge privateness developments on the state degree, that are set to take impact in 2024, add extra complexity for digital well being firms and their knowledge administration practices.  These new state privateness legal guidelines purpose to supply heightened protections for client well being knowledge that fall exterior the scope of federal legal guidelines comparable to HIPAA.  The FTC actions and new state legal guidelines add to the ever-growing patchwork of legal guidelines and rules that digital well being firms should navigate in america.  Within the EU, digital well being firms might want to assess how the European Well being Knowledge House and different associated legal guidelines slated to take impact within the subsequent yr or two may impression their knowledge practices.

• Extra energetic engagement with well being regulatory authorities

2023 noticed world well being regulatory authorities collaborate with life sciences and Medtech stakeholders to supply extra steering on digital well being applied sciences and using AI/ML in drug improvement and manufacturing. Within the US, the FDA just lately shaped the Digital Well being Advisory Committee to navigate the advantages, dangers and scientific outcomes related to digital well being applied sciences, together with AI/ML and distant affected person monitoring.  The EMA has been equally centered on the event and deployment of AI, together with within the context of drug merchandise, as evidenced by the anticipated adoption of the AI Act. As digital well being continues to evolve and contact upon numerous points comparable to decentralized trials, delicate affected person knowledge and cybersecurity, we count on regulators and innovators to proceed to work collectively to facilitate the secure and efficient improvement of digital well being applied sciences to satisfy the wants of numerous populations.

• Deal with contractual dispute decision phrases in Medtech collaborations

Excessive capital prices and ongoing inflation within the costs of supplies and labor proceed to place strain on the economics of Medtech merchandise that haven’t but reached commercialization, or for which elevated prices can’t be handed on to customers.  This cocktail of sudden prices has precipitated a marked improve within the variety of Medtech firms looking for to exit or renegotiate collaborations, provide agreements and different contractual relationships.  The following disputes give heart stage to contractual phrases that usually obtain restricted consideration on the time the contract is negotiated and lift necessary questions, together with whether or not the events should carry out throughout dispute decision and whether or not a celebration can declare misplaced earnings within the occasion of the counterparty’s breach. As difficult market circumstances persist, we count on Medtech firms negotiating new agreements or renegotiating present ones to proceed to focus such contractual dispute decision phrases as they search to carry counterparties to the events’ discount or leverage a renegotiation or exit an unprofitable contract with restricted price.

• Development of Japan’s Medtech trade

The expansion of Japan’s Medtech trade continues to be pushed by a confluence of things, together with the nation’s growing older inhabitants, superior well being IT infrastructure and digitization of healthcare.  In response, the Japanese authorities has been looking for methods to streamline regulatory steering on cutting-edge digital well being applied sciences.  Not too long ago, the Ministry of Well being, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) revised its Telemedicine Pointers to permit for distant analysis and remedy of sufferers by way of telemedicine.  The Japanese authorities has additionally taken steps to control the event and use of generative AI in healthcare, together with holding the primary AI Technique Council assembly earlier this yr and planning the event of a generative AI program for use for medical analysis. Within the coming years, we count on Japanese regulators and Medtech firms to proceed collaborating on digital well being and AI-driven improvements that purpose to ease the nation’s healthcare burden and improve the standard of healthcare supply.

• Addressing inequities within the implementation of digital well being applied sciences

Medtech innovators and regulators are persevering with to pay shut consideration to the inequities within the healthcare system.  This yr, a traditionally excessive variety of Medtech firms collaborating to supply applied sciences geared toward bettering affected person outcomes throughout populations.  In parallel, there was elevated regulatory and authorized concentrate on decreasing bias in digital well being applied sciences.  For instance, attorneys basic representing half of the U.S. just lately signed a letter demanding that the FDA take pressing motion to handle the technological points that trigger pulse oximeters to ship inaccurate outcomes for individuals of shade.  Moreover, a current examine discovered that states have proposed extra laws supposed to advertise well being fairness than ever previously few years, with a concentrate on racial and financial disparities and an absence of entry to maternal and toddler healthcare.  In mild of this elevated focus, in 2024, Medtech firms ought to proceed to guage their well being fairness priorities to make sure that they align with the quickly evolving rules and steering on addressing the inequities within the improvement and deployment of digital well being applied sciences.

Current AI-based advances, notably in generative AI, have positioned the highlight squarely on the impression of AI and data-driven choices on the way forward for healthcare.  Generative AI can be utilized to streamline billing and medical claims, improve coordination amongst hospitals, distributors and well being programs, and enhance affected person outcomes by means of patient-specific analyses and proposals.  We count on the mixing of generative AI to drive innovation in wearable know-how as effectively.  In parallel, this previous yr has witnessed elevated regulation of generative AI know-how, as regulators and policymakers world wide scrutinize the info privateness and AI compliance practices of Medtech firms.  As AI-based options turn out to be more and more built-in into Medtech choices, we anticipate that Medtech firms will proceed to prioritize generative AI’s highest-impact use instances and design AI governance and accountability buildings that combine AI insurance policies into their every day operations.

In conclusion, we count on the Medtech trade to proceed to make advances in direction of remodeling healthcare supply in 2024.  The rise of AI, particularly, presents a chance for Medtech firms to combine rising applied sciences into new product choices.  On the identical time, innovators within the house should proceed to navigate the advanced regulatory and authorized panorama with a view to efficiently compete within the evolving world Medtech trade and finally, enhance affected person outcomes and improve entry to healthcare the world over.

Picture: Feodora Chiosea, Getty Photos

Editor’s Be aware: The put up has been up to date to replicate that the European AI ACT is anticipated be adopted and has not been adopted but.