How Wearable Startups Can Win Big In The Medical Industry

Julie Papanek is a principal at Canaan Partners where she invests in healthcare startups.

When considering a medical wearable startup for investment, I focus on what type of data the product collects and if it is an endpoint. A primary clinical endpoint is defined as “an event or outcome that can be measured objectively to determine whether the intervention being studied is beneficial to a patient.”

For example, how long a patient survives is the primary endpoint for most cancer products, and reducing blood pressure is the primary endpoint for hypertension. Endpoints demonstrate that the product delivers value, and most importantly, whether other companies’ products deliver value as well.

Endpoints are not only the source of truth in healthcare, they are also the gatekeepers. Improving a primary endpoint in a clinical trial can unlock FDA approval, reimbursement by payers, and market share when physicians recommend the product to their patients.

For these reasons, a wearable company that accurately tracks primary endpoints commands power in the medical market. For instance, Empatica‘s wristband is designed to accurately measure the onset of seizures, which in the long run could determine if one anti-epileptic medication works better than another or when an ambulance should be sent to someone’s home. I’m betting that pharmaceutical, medical device companies and hospitals will pay wearable startups for that type of value.

Aspiring medical wearable entrepreneurs should start by figuring out the strongest endpoints for the disease they want to impact. One good strategy is to look up clinical trials for the last 3-4 medical devices or drugs approved for that disease. Also check out this resource on endpoints from the FDA.

μέσω How Wearable Startups Can Win Big In The Medical Industry | TechCrunch.

Advertisement