In December of last year, the 10 medical device startups selected for the first IMPACT Accelerator program pitched their solutions to a panel of industry experts. Our Cycle 1 cohort spent 12 weeks working with life sciences experts, local mentors, and M2D2 resources to improve their pitch and advance their innovation.
We kicked off the IMPACT Pitch-Off with a well-timed keynote speech “The Importance of Innovation” with Mark Boden from Boston Scientific and Kenny Tran from Asahi Intecc.
Kenny Tran shared how he defines innovation at Asahi Intecc. “For Asahi Intecc, innovation isn’t just about inventing something new, although we do a lot of that too. More often, innovation is about refining technology, finding new use for it, identifying new markets and real-world problem solving [applications].”
You can watch the full video recording of the IMPACT Accelerator Pitch-Off here.
IMPACT Winners and prizes from Cycle 1
While cash prizes were not part of the original agenda for the IMPACT Accelerator Cycle, we were able to connect investors and leaders in life sciences with the startups involved with Cycle 1. During the IMPACT Pitch-Off, we announced 5 IMPACT startups who received surprise cash prizes and industry awards from partners:
- 1st Place Award: Meacor
- 2nd Place Award: Agile Devices
- 3rd Place Award: Pacify Medical
- Life Sciences Nations Conference – myBiometry
- NurseApproved Platform Access – Breathe BioMedical
- NurseApproved Platform Access – Parrots
Startups involved in the program had 1:1 meetings with interested investors after the Cycle ended.
The IMPACT Experiences from the Startups in Cycle 1
We asked the members of our IMPACT Cohort how they felt about the IMPACT Accelerator program after they completed the full cycle.
Hubly Surgical – Casey Grage, CEO & Founder
“The folks at M2D2 introduced us to the director of anatomical services at UMass Lowell, who in turn, gave us discounted services to conduct a cadaver lab with their neurosurgical physician assistants.
This lab and these connections are incredibly valuable to our FDA application and our eventual commercialization in Boston. We were excited to complete our pre-see round of $1.2M in December while in the IMPACT program. I cannot recommend M2D2 IMPACT enough.”
myBiometry – Bryan Nolan, CEO, and Founder
“We applied to the program to enable our team to learn from the curriculum and expand our network for potential clinical partners, pilot sites, and new investors. We had a wonderful experience with the program and its content. Like any program, it’s the people that make a difference.
They have opened new doors for us with BARDA, UMass, prospective investors, strategic partners, and resources related to government programs both in the US and abroad. We would recommend the IMPACT program to any startup willing to learn and advance their company to the next level.”
Agile Devices – Ben Merewitz, CEO & Co-Founder
We were thrilled to be accepted into the program, and our expectations were only exceeded. We knew we wanted to leverage the 1:1 mentorship program, and our primary goal was to use that to inform our early commercialization efforts from a medtech industry veteran. We also wanted to dive deep into hospital purchasing practices and tips and tricks to be effective.
On both these fronts, we were very satisfied with the intelligence and resources provided to us by the program. We gained between 15-20 remarkable industry contacts through networking at the virtual and in-person events put on by IMPACT – with other cohort members, mentors, and sponsors.”
Looking ahead to our upcoming IMPACT Cycles and events.
Cycle 1 of the IMPACT Accelerator program was an overwhelming success. We were able to meet and work with early-stage medical device startups and connect them with key players in the life sciences industry.
We are excited to continue working with our IMPACT alumni after the cycle has ended by providing them with commercialization support and bearing witness to their successes in the medical device ecosystem.
In April, we will be hosting our 2nd IMPACT Accelerator Pitch-off and this time we’ll be coming together in-person! You can join us in Lowell on April 21st – get your tickets for free.