How Larger Companies Can Innovate at a Startup Pace

Anyone who works in the medtech industry knows that when it comes to developing new ideas and truly novel devices, moving quickly is critical. That can be particularly challenging for larger companies, where innovation and progress can often be slowed to a snail’s pace as more people contribute to the process. Steve Geist is the director of research and development within the transcatheter mitral and tricuspid therapies division at Edwards Lifesciences. During his 12 year career at Edwards, Geist has worked across multiple business units and has played an integral role in helping the company move device ideas from a napkin-sketch, to iterative product development and preclinical evaluation, to formal qualification, and eventually clinical trials. Geist will speak at the MD&M Minneapolis conference on “How Innovation Beyond Line Extensions Can Happen Within a Large Company” on Wednesday, Nov. 8. He recently spoke with MD+DI Qmed about the challenges of enabling and encouraging innovation in a large company setting and the lessons that can be learned for any company pursuing innovation at a faster pace. Qmed: What do you think are some of the biggest challenges when it comes to inspiring innovation within a large company setting? Geist: The challenge isn’t inspiring innovation, it’s unleashing it.  Within companies, there are already a lot of talented engineers naturally inspired to innovate…but providing opportunities for these individuals and teams to truly ...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: MD & M Minneapolis R Medical Device Business Source Type: news