Triggered by successful visits to Advamed San Diego (2015) and Advamed Minneapolis (2016), East Netherlands Development Agency (Oost NL) together with the Top Sector Life Sciences & Health (Health~Holland) and the Netherlands Consulate in San Francisco organised a business development and trade mission to The MedTech Conference in San Jose (CA) from 25 to 27 September.
This year’s The Medtech Conference brought together more than 1000 companies and proved to be an excellent environment for business development, capital raising, product and technology showcasing, education through workshops/panel sessions and networking.
The target group for this mission were Dutch medtech SMEs with products or services already on the market who are looking for ways to expand internationally with a focus on North America. They were primarily scale-ups rather than startups. Fifteen delegates had signed up including the following ten medtech companies: Encapson, Stroke2Prevent, DOVIDEQ medical, HCM-medical, PulseCath, OsteoPharma, Factory CRO, Axon Lawyers, Unitron and Gannet.
The entrepreneurs all actively engaged in the MedTechConnect one-on-on partnering programme, resulting in a series of 30-minute speed dates with potential business partners. In order to support the delegation and to generate exposure for the medical ecosystem in the Netherlands, a Health~Holland booth was set up at a prime location at the exhibition. The booth was also used to inform foreign companies who are considering setting up a business in the Netherlands (InvestinHolland). In addition, all Dutch delegates were invited to pitch their product and services at the international lounge. At a networking dinner sponsored by the Netherlands Embassy, guest speaker Dave Hood of DH3 & Associates informed the delegation about working with the US government on specific medical opportunities and how to access associated non-dilutive funding programmes.
An evaluation survey revealed that all of the participants were all very pleased with the organisation, the contacts and the overall outcome of the mission. Several participants have already indicated that they are interested in joining the mission next year.
Please contact Nico Arfman if you are interested in finding out more about this event, or next year’s The MedTech Conference in Philadelphia, 24-26 September 2018.
