Welcome to the DeviceTalks Weekly podcast, the foundational podcast for the entire DeviceTalks podcast network. The DeviceTalks Weekly Podcast series delivers news, insights and commentary from Medtech industry leaders. Our weekly episodes will inspire medtech professionals to create better medtech devices and companies.

DeviceTalks Weekly

DeviceTalks Weekly: Ep. 10 –  How do medtech investors, CEOS manage portfolio companies going forward?

In this week’s episode of DeviceTalks Weekly, we talk with two successful starters of medtech companies about how they’re building and maintaining their medtech portfolios during this pandemic landscape.

Our guests this week are…

•	Justin Klein, MD, managing partner, Vensana Capital
•	Duke Rohlen, chairman, Ajax Health

Together, Klein and Rohlen have created, backed and sold medtech companies that have generated billions.  

Klein, formerly of New Enterprise Associates, now co-manages his own venture firm, Vensana Capital. He previously served on the board of directors of Cartiva (acquired), ChromaCode, CV Ingenuity (acquired), EPIX Therapeutics (acquired), FIRE1, GPB Scientific, Intact Vascular, Metavention, Personal Genome Diagnostics, PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals (IPO), Relievant Medsystems, Senseonics (IPO), Topera (acquired), Ulthera (acquired), Vertiflex (acquired), Vesper Medical, and VytronUS (acquired).  

Rohlen, who leads a holdings company backed by private equity giant KKR, previously served as chairman and CEO of EPIX, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Spirox, Inc (sold to Entellus Medical) and co-founder and CEO of CV Ingenuity. He was also president of Fox Hollow before it was acquired by EV3.

In this podcast we’ll learn how VCs are looking at investment opportunities in this market

•	Are they making new investments?
•	What impact is this having on valuation?
•	Do VCs give stronger consideration to new concerns like supply chain?
•	When will they get clinical trials up and running?

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How do medtech investors, CEOS manage portfolio companies going forward?

DeviceTalks Weekly: Ep. 11 –  Medtronic is buckling up and ready to buy

In this week’s episode of DeviceTalks Weekly, we dip into Medtronic’s quarterly call to hear why company executives feel the medtech sector is already rebounding. The global giant also intends to start using its vast cash reserves to bolster its bottomline through M&A.

We’ll also talk with Jeff Champagne of MPR about medtech’s need for speed. He’ll be leading a discussion on this subject and more on the upcoming DeviceTalks Tuesdays.

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Medtronic is buckling up and ready to buy

In this week’s DeviceTalks Weekly podcast, we attempt to deliver heartfelt and hard won advice in a sort of commencement address by Todd Brinton, MD, Corporate Vice President,
Advanced Technology and Chief Scientific Officer of Edwards Lifesciences. Dr. Brinton sits down with host Tom Salemi to share his path into Medtech. Brinton shares great advice for anyone looking for a new career or opportunity in medtech. NOTE: This conversation was recorded in March, prior to the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

DTW's Commencement Speaker- Todd Brinton, MD, Edwards Lifesciences on building a career in medtech

DeviceTalks Weekly: Ep. 13 –  Cala Health CEO Renee Ryan Brings Business Building Insights to Bioelectronic Medicine Startup

In this week’s episode of DeviceTalks Weekly, Tom Salemi, editorial director of DeviceTalks events and content, visits with Renee Ryan, the CEO of neuromodulation startup Cala Health.

Ryan came to Cala from the venerable medtech investor Johnson & Johnson Development Corp., where she made over 15 investments helping to create companies including Auris Surgical, Cala and digital surgery play Verb Surgical, J&J’s joint venture with Verily. “I really set my mind to [asking] was there a way we could create our own opportunities,” she said of her eight years as the corporate investor.

We ask Ryan about her move into medtech investing from investment banking as well as the  “secret power” that helped her succeed as an investor and an executive.

We’ll also discuss the unique commercial strategy Cala is employing as it begins rolling out its Cala Trio, a bioelectronic device developed to treat essential tremor.

The interview was conducted in February.




What role will tech companies play in medtech’s future?
Did Verb Surgical meet her expectations?
As CEO how do you manage investor syndicates with multiple corporate investors?
Can Cala secure reimbursement and create a new market for tremors?
What grade did she skip as a child?

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Cala Health CEO Renee Ryan Brings Business Building Insights to Bioelectronic Medicine Startup

This week’s DeviceTalks Weekly podcast episode talks with industry leaders about improving worker diversity and developing new ways to treat COVID-19 patients.

Kevin Lobo, chairman and CEO of Stryker, explains how his company – and the industry group AdvaMed – has been working  to increase diversity of its workforce, particularly in senior and sales positions. Lobo is serving a two-year term as chairman of AdvaMed. In this interview, Lobo speaks specifically to how Stryker is tracking progress, where it has come up short, and how it’s working to help workers identify their own biases.

Lobo also says Stryker is poised to regain momentum after the pandemic.

Next, Kevin Sayer, executive chairman, CEO and president of Dexcom, says the company’s continuous glucose monitors are finding a home in hospitals as they help monitor the health of COVID-19 patients. Sayer says the company’s monitors have helped keep patients, especially diabetics, off ventilators and allowed them to get discharged more quickly. What’s next for Dexcom? “We think this is an important market for us, not just COVID-wise,” Sayer says.

Finally, Raj Denhoy, equity research analyst at Jefferies, breaks down private equity group Blackstone’s investment in Medtronic’s diabetes line. Why would the medtech giant take outside money? Is this something we’ll see more of in medtech?

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Stryker's Kevin Lobo, Dexcom's Kevin Sayer talk diversity, COVID-19; also more on Medtronic deal

DeviceTalks Weekly: Ep. 15 –  Why FDA put the pedal to the metal for radar and hummingbirds.  And why medtech needs Google.

In this week’s episode of DeviceTalks Weekly, co-hosts Chris Newmarker and Tom Salemi dig into the recent successes by start-ups Circadia Health and Perceptis Medical, which both saw expedited approval from the FDA due to the pandemic.

We also unveil the 20 medical device companies you need to know. 
https://www.medicaldesignandoutsourcing.com/20-medical-device-startups-you-need-to-know-2020/


Circadia CEO Fares Siddiqui discusses the quick approval that came for his company’s C100 system that uses radar to monitor respiratory function. Preceptis Medical CEO Steve Anderson, meanwhile, explains why the agency – and he hopes payers – want to see his company’s ear-tube implanting system on the market.

We also visit with Heidi Dohse, Sr. Program Manager at Google’s Cloud Healthcare & Life Sciences organization, who will be leading the upcoming DeviceTalks Tuesday’s discussion about how medtech devices can use data to better serve its sickest patients.

https://www.devicetalks.com/devicetalks-tuesdays-agenda/

Dohse partners with physicians and researchers around the world to provide insights regarding the patient experience and ideas for engagement. She travels globally educating audiences on digital health, data and healthcare. On Tuesday, she’ll discuss.

•	How do we weigh “patient lifestyles” vs. “therapy/product” lifecycles”?
•	What impact will connected devices and apps have on patient outcomes?
•	How can data help improve and even transform the patient experience?
•	Speaker:

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Why FDA put the pedal to the metal for radar and hummingbirds.  And why medtech needs Google.

Nadim Yared, CEO of CVRx

This week, CVRX reported positive six-month trial results for its Barostim Neo, an FDA-approved treatment for heart failure.

The results follow years of close work between the agency and CVRx, one of the more ambitious startups in medtech. CVRx is targeting a huge clinical need with novel neuromodulation technology.

In this week’s DeviceTalks Weekly podcast, CEO Nadim Yared walks us through the negotiations the company went through with the FDA to get to this point.

Yared, the prior chairman of the industry group AdvaMed, also shares the story of his career, which started early on when he secured a job at GE even before graduating college.

In this talk, Yared speaks to several issues including:

The power of confidence and the dangers of overconfidence when building a career.
-How he decided to take the job at CVRx (and why he didn’t initially want to talk about the job with a recruiter.)
-What CVRx learned from other successes and failures in renal denervation.
-Why the company is betting big on heart failure, but doesn't have a Chief Medical Officer.
-Whether or not his role as chairman at AdvaMed impacted his work at CVRx.
-Can medtechs generate good returns after raising hundreds of millions in capital?

This conversation took place prior to the emergence of COVID-19, so DTW host Tom Salemi visited again with Yared more recently. We’ll play that interview in next week’s episode of DeviceTalks Weekly.

If you’re looking for more medtech discussions, register now for DeviceTalks Weekly at devicetalks.com.

Subscribe to he podcast. Don’t miss an episode!

CVRx CEO Nadim Yared on his path from engineer to CEO to industry leader.

DeviceTalks Weekly: Ep. 17 –  
In this week’s episode of DeviceTalks Weekly, we follow up with Nadim Yared, CEO of CVRx, the guest of last week’s episode, to catch up on how the medtech executives is managing during the pandemic.

Yared also shares some far-reaching views on what the medtech industry needs to work toward to improve diversity in its workforce and provide equality for society.

We also visit with Mira Sahney, CEO of Hyalex Orthopaedics, one of medtech’s most interesting startups; Hyalex was identified as a notable startup in the recent report in Medical Design and Outsourcing.

In this interview, Sahney reveals Hyalex’ origins, the state of its potential cartilage replacement product, and why start-ups have a natural advantage operating in a pandemic.

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CVRx Nadim Yared on COVID-19, diversity and equality; Hyalex CEO Mira Sahney shares startup details

For years, medtech companies have known connectivity was good for them, but the promise of data streaming through devices didn't match the reality. COVID-19 changed that, creating an opportunity for device companies with connectivity plans in place.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. David Hayes, CMO of Biotronik, about that companies success in connecting cardiology patients. Meanwhile, Bill Betten of S3 Connected Health explains what device companies must do to prepare for medtech's next age. 

We also review the week's top news involving Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson, Abbott, Edwards, and Smith+Nephew

Is Medtech finally ready to capitalize on the promise of connectivity?

In this week’s podcast, we talk with Holly Logue, general counsel at Drawbridge Health, about the OneDraw, an innovative new tool that might upend the collecting, storage and testing of blood. Logue, a panelist in the upcoming DeviceTalks Tuesdays sponsored by Finnegan, will explain how her past work on Capitol Hill is helping this Silicon Valley company’s plans.

Meanwhile, we speak with Daveen Chopra, corporate vice president of surgical structural heart at Edwards Lifesciences, about that company’s commitment to treating the most serious cardiac patients. The company recently won FDA approval for its Konect Resilia aortic valve conduit, a vital new tool in helping heart patients, including many requiring emergency story.

Co-costs Tom Salemi, editorial director of DeviceTalks, and Chris Newmarker, executive editor of life sciences at MassDevice, review the five biggest news stories of the week. We'll talk about Abbott, Becton Dickinson, Boston Scientific, Edwards Lifesciences, and Theranos. Number one may surprise you.

Can Drawbridge, Edwards bring disruptive innovation to blood drawing, heart surgery industries?

In this week’s podcast, two executives from Thrive Earlier Detection explain how the “turbo-charged” diagnostics company intends to upend how, when and where cancer is diagnosed. Isaac Kinde, MD, PhD, co-founder and head of research and innovation, walks us through the company’s CancerSEEK test and how the company is marrying new technology with an innovative clinical approach. Meanwhile, Isaac Ro, tells host Tom Salemi how the company closed on $257 million (hint: lots of Zoom) and why he left a career on Wall Street to join this innovative start-up. 

Chris Newmarker, executive editor of life sciences at MassDevice, also counts down on the biggest newsmakers in this week’s MassDevice.

Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe to DeviceTalks Weekly on your podcast players.  It’s available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast channels.

What in the world will Thrive Earlier Detection do with $257 million?

Ten ways medtech is finding its footing during the pandemic 

When COVID19 set upon the US in March, medtech executives had a month at most to tell Wall Street analysts how the pandemic had hit the industry’s largest companies. We heard about short-term hits in revenues, procedures and employee headcounts, but uncertainty clearly ruled the day.

Over the past weeks, medtech executives from several leading companies reported back to analysts with a full quarter under their belt. To be sure, no one can claim to hold a full grasp on this crisis, but a survey of the calls reveals several observations worth pointing out . 

In this podcast, we’ll list our Top 10.

Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe to DeviceTalks Weekly on your podcast players.  It’s available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast channels.

Ten ways medtech companies are finding their footing during the pandemic

DeviceTalks Weekly: Ep. 22 –  This week’s episode of DeviceTalks Weekly is brought to you by the later V, as in Vizient and Vicarious Surgical.

Bharat Sundaram, COO and president of Vizient, will share how the healthcare supplier is strengthening the supply of PPE for hospitals. He'll also reveal when the company expects to see US hospitals running at pre-Covid levels. Hint, it'll be a while.

Adam Sachs, CEO of Vicarious Surgical, tells us how the company will put a new round of capital from high-powered investors to work in developing to develop a surgical system employing robotic and virtual reality technologies. How does the start-up expect to compete with the established leaders in the robotics space?

Co-host Chris Newmarker, executive editor, life sciences, will walk us through the five biggest newsmakers on the MassDevice site. Number one may surprise you, but given the time, perhaps it shouldn’t.

Vizient on PPE, Vicarious on VR-aided robotics and let's all hope for pumpernickel

DeviceTalks Weekly listeners will need some gravy to digest this Thanksgiving feast-sized podcast featuring news and insights from three stellar guests in addition to two new installments of #2minutedetalks chapters from Delve Inc. and Explorer Surgical.

This week we visit with…

Mark Leahey, president of the Medical Device Manufacturers Association, who explains where medtech might fits in this evolving political climate.
Spencer Stiles, group president of orthopaedic and spine at Stryker, who shares details on the Wright acquisition and the secret to the success of placing MAKO surgical robots in hospitals
Art Collins, senior advisor to Explorer Surgical. The former Chairman and CEO discusses leadership, Medtronic and the future for startups like Explorer.

Also co-host Chris Newmarker, executive editor of MassDevice, shares his selections for this week’s #newmarkersnewsmakers which includes news from BD, Boston Scientific and Johnson & Johnson.

Enjoy a feast of insights from Spencer Stiles(Stryker) Art Collins(Explorer) and Mark Leahey (MDMA)

In this episode of the DeviceTalks Weekly Podcast, Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha brings us on the inside of Medtronic’s ongoing reorganization. Martha explains how the new company will be structured to work with outside vendors. (Hint: more autonomy, not total autonomy.)

He also explains why the company’s push to instill more competitive juice is aligned with its overarching mission of innovation.

Martha also discussed his long path to medtech and Medtronic. How he first met Omar Ishrak and why institutions like Medtronic and other medtech companies need to step up on a social scale.

This week, Dave Franchino, president of Delve, explains how the company is adapting innovation to fit the pandemic. (And suggests if you’re not finding opportunities to innovate, you’re simply not looking hard enough.)

But there is no DeviceTalks party without Chris Newmarker, executive editor of MassDevice, who shares this episode’s Newmarker Newsmakers. Companies covered include Medtronic, Vectorious Medical Technologies, GE Healthcare, Stryker and Butterfly Network.

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Medtronic CEO Martha explains the why of competing, the reorg, and the importance of institutions

The past year of pandemic, social unrest and a divisive election -  provided a crash course in crisis management for CEOs.  In this week’s DeviceTalks Weekly Podcast, Kevin Lobo, the CEO of Stryker, explains how he led his company through this difficult year. 

His recipe for success is long, but it includes priorities, communication and listening. 

Lobo also is serving his final year as chairman of AdvaMed. He shares how that experience gave him an even better appreciation of the medtech industry, which he says got treated unfairly at times but still came through with high grades.

Joining us for the first time as a co-host is Nancy Crotti, managing editor of Medical Design and Outsourcing. She’ll talk about the upcoming leadership issue.

Meanwhile, Sean Whooley, assistant editor of MassDevice, will share the five big news items of the week aka #NewmarkersNewsmakers. This week’s news comes from Quest, Pfizer, Boston Scientific and Medtronic.

And we'll learn which co-host had a steak cooked for them by a future president of the United States.

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Stryker CEO Kevin Lobo shares successful strategies for managing multiple crises (aka life in 2020)

Happy Vaccine Week!

This week, we’ll visit with the medtech professionals who are working to get the vaccines into the right hands – and arms – of the people who need it most.

This week’s guests include 

•	Elizabeth Woody, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs at BD
•	Claudia Roa, Vice President Life Science & Healthcare Sector, Americas Global Customer Solutions at DHL
•	Eric Eskioğlu, MD, EVP & Chief Medical Officer, Novant Health 


Co-hosts Tom Salemi and Chris Newmarker welcome Brian Buntz, medtech pro and now pharma editor at WTWH Media, for a recap of the top 10 #newmarkersnewsmakers of 2020. 

We also look ahead to 2021 offering our Big, Bold Predictions for the New Year. (And someone offers to pick up the first round of drinks at DeviceTalks Boston in October…well, sort of.) 

This is the final episode of the DeviceTalks Weekly Podcast for 2020! Thanks to the tens of thousands (yep, really) people who have joined us on this audio journey.

We’ll be back in January with a new DeviceTalks Weekly Podcast. Subscribe now so you don’t miss it!

Taking the fight to COVID-19 - BD, DHL, Novant on delivering, shipping and administering the vaccine

Dr. Robert Kowal, CMO of Medtronic’s cardiac rhythm and heart failure business and vice president of medical affairs, explains how new tech, savvy patients, eager physicians and, yes, COVID-19, has fueled a renaissance for remote technology, once seen as a mature, staid business. Dr. Kowal also shares an amazing story of a patient who may owe his life to a timely conversation between his pacemaker and cellphone.

Jon Norris, managing director of healthcare at Silicon Valley Bank, delivers three big takeaways from his report on 2020 fundraising. Medtech venture capitalists and start-ups didn’t let the lockdown slow their fund-raising efforts, and their efforts were buoyed by surprising strong exiting opportunities through IPOs and M&A.

Co-hosts Chris Newmarker and Tom Salemi review the medtech industry’s response to the riot and occupation of the Capitol building. This week’s #NewmarkersNewsmakers includes news from Smith & Nephew, Stryker, and the disappearing Haven.

Medtronic’s Kowal on remote tech’s rebirth, SVB’s Norris delivers good news for VCs, CEOs

This week we’ll dig deep into digital surgery, robotics and the power of THE CLOUD.

In our opening keynote conversation, Mark Toland, CEO of Medical Micro Instruments, explains why the company’s microsurgical robot has a chance to be in most hospitals. The company has CE Mark, a controlled commercial roll out and plans to knock in the FDA’s door sometime in 2022 where it will face huge competition (or, we think, potential acquirers if history holds out.) Watch the cool CNBC video here. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/28/italy-symani-surgical-robotic-system-improves-microsurgery-procedures.html

Next, we talk with Scott “Go Go Go” Huennekens, employee number 1 at the former Verb Surgical, about the state of digital medtech. Huennekens, who previously led and sold Volcano Corp., explains why you can no longer have the latter without the former. Kal Patel, CEO of BrightInsight, explains why medtech must follow a different path – with equally unique challenges – to fully enjoy the power of digital connection.

Danielle Kirsh, senior editor of Mass Device, drops by to bring us up to date at two cool devices presented at CES 2001. You can read about Omron and Binah.ai here. 

https://www.medicaldesignandoutsourcing.com/ces-2021-medical-technologies-you-need-to-know/

Finally, Co-hosts Tom Salemi and Chris Newmarker walk through this week’s #NewmarkersNewsmakers featuring news from Abbott, Steris, Cantel and Theranos.

Digging into the Digital Medtech & Surgical Worlds with Mark Toland, Scott Huennekens, and Kal Patel

The pandemic has accelerated innovation in many ways but the physical pressures on entrepreneurs, innovators and engineers is very real. In this episode of the DeviceTalks Weekly Podcast, a panel representing early-stage and tech transfer efforts explain how they're helping individuals and young companies work through the unique challenges of the time, including:

*Finding capital
*Working with corporates
*Understanding opportunities in a changing healthcare market
*Are there silver linings

Guests include 

Jennifer McCaney, PhD,,co-executive director, UCLA Biodesign
Jackie Mejia, PhD, director, gBeta Medtech
Scott Morley, director, office of economic partnerships, University of Pittsburgh


This conversation is a condensed version of our Jan. 19 DeviceTalks Tuesday. Go to DeviceTalks.com to watch the entire presentation.

Co-host Chris Newmarker, executive editor of MassDevice, also shares his top 5 stories of the week, aka, NewmarkersNewsmakers. The big news belongs to DePuy, Philips, Boston Scientific, Transenterix and President Biden.

Where will Medtech innovation emerge in 2021? Hear from McCaney, Mejia and Morley

The DeviceTalks Podcast Network delivers news, insights and commentary from MedTech industry leaders, primarily from the largest OEMs in healthcare. Our podcasts will inspire MedTech professionals to create better MedTech devices and companies.

Explore the DeviceTalks Podcast Network, home to more than 11 podcasts:

• DeviceTalks Weekly
• AbbottTalks
• Boston Scientific Talks
• DeviceTalks AI
• IntuitiveTalks
• MedtechWOMEN Talks
• MedtronicTalks
• Neuro Innovation Talks: J&J MedTech Neuro
• Structural Heart Talks: Edwards Lifesciences
• Ortho Innovation Talks: Zimmer Biomet
• StrykerTalks

WATCH our video podcasts on www.youtube.com/@DeviceTalks

Connect with the hosts:
Tom Salemi, Editorial Director, DeviceTalks https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-salemi-7118948/
Kayleen Brown, Managing Editor, DeviceTalks https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayleenbrown/

Learn more about DeviceTalks - Podcasts • Conferences • Webinars - www.devicetalks.com