MedTech Idol is expanding its reach across the pond, opening up a competition for European medical device makers.
The contest, launched stateside last year, is produced by venture capital shop RCT Ventures. The competition exposes start-ups to a group of highly focused medical device investors, allowing the audience to choose the winner.
The first winner, Francis Lamont Innovations, designed a table extension for assisting surgeons in direct anterior hip replacement surgery. The device now has CE Mark approval in the European Union and 510(k) clearance from the FDA.
The European edition of the contest is slated for the Investment in Innovation Medical Device 360° conference in Dublin April 8-10. The investor judges will be Alan O’Connell of Seroba Kernel, Tim Haines of Abingworth, Paul Grand of RCT Ventures and Antoine Papiernik of Sofinnova Partners, according to a press release.
“Our goal with MedTech Idol is to identify outstanding early-stage medtech opportunities. Over the past few years, we’ve seen a decrease in the number of early-stage device companies at industry conferences. These conferences offer start-ups critical exposure to investors and strategic partners, but they often don’t have the funds to cover what can be expensive registration fees. One of the ways we help address that is by providing the top 10 semi-finalists in MedTech Idol with complimentary attendance to each of the conferences where the competition is held. They also get to be part of a high energy and fun competition with numerous opportunities to network with other start-ups and investors. Competing in MedTech Idol gives start-ups broad exposure to industry and to investors actively investing in early-stage medtech,” according to RCT Ventures managing partner Paul Grand.
The application deadline is Feb 24. Ten semi-finalists will be chosen for the Dublin event by the judges to attend the conference in Dublin. Four finalists will then be selected to present at the competition, with the audience selecting the winner.