Bioentrepreneurship: A Prime

You don’t need an MBA, but you do need to involve people who understand business as you grow your company, Dr. Gonzales said.

Opinions differed on the effect of the current economy vis à vis bioentrepreneurship. Dr. Natale believes the current economic conditions are not relevant. Medical start-ups will rise and fall based on FDA approval and whether physicians want to use the product. The medical sector is always less affected than other sectors, he said.

The medical sector is insulated, Dr. Gonzales agreed. Now is just as good a time as any in the medical device industry. Our exits [whether a device is licensed or the company is sold to another company] rarely go through IPOs. Large companies always need new products to boost their revenue, he added.

Mr. Ressemann had a slightly different opinion. The current economic times are unprecedented. Early-stage investments are getting tough, and the terms are going to be more demanding than they were just six months ago, he said.

Resources are now available to guide would-be bioentrepreneurs. Dr. Gonzales suggests the Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry (MD&DI) Web site as a starting point for research on comparable companies with medical devices. This portal always has important information. For example, I hired the co-author of an article on ‘Negotiating With Giants’ as my corporate attorney. I found that article on the MD&DI Web site, he said.

Finally, the recently founded Society of Physician Entrepreneurs (SOPE) is an important initiative with the express goal of helping bioentrepreneurs bring their ideas to the marketplace (see sidebar on page 21).

©2009 The Triological Society