{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Medtech Innovation Podcast","title":"How to get your device acquired before FDA clearance","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3611,"description":"I'm joined by Brad Shirley, Founder at DCMS Solutions, as we explore how he helped a physician-inventor's sports med device get acquired by Arthrex, the playbook for navigating strategic partnerships and IP deals, and why most early-stage medtech companies stall before they ever reach a strategic's radar.From Startup to Arthrex: The HolmesMed Acquisition Playbook→ How Brad helped Dr. Wendell Holmes take a sports med soft tissue repair device from stalled prototype to a completed deal with Arthrex in roughly two years→ Dr. Holmes had been getting the dreaded \"this is really interesting Dr. Holmes, keep us posted, come back to us in three months\" from strategics for years before Brad came on board→ The missing ingredient wasn't the technology - it was a development roadmap, a clear risk reduction strategy, and someone thinking about the project every single dayKnow Your Target: The Research That Closes Deals→ Before approaching any strategic, study their product portfolio gaps, expiring IP, recent acquisitions, balance sheet strength, and competitive positioning→ Brad specifically identified mid-market strategics (#4-6 players in the space) as ideal acquirers because they're hungry for differentiated products to move up the rankings→ Understanding where your technology fills a gap in their portfolio turns a cold pitch into a warm conversation about solving their problemR vs D: Why Strategics Want Development, Not Research→ The biggest mistake physician-inventors make is approaching strategics with a research project instead of a development-ready product with clear regulatory and manufacturing pathways→ Getting to \"design freeze\" is the critical inflection point that signals to acquirers your technology is real and de-risked enough to evaluate seriously→ Strategics aren't buying your idea - they're buying a shortened timeline to market with reduced technical and regulatory riskSlow Down to Speed Up: Iterating With Purpose→ Brad's philosophy of \"slow down to speed...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/SKJTlzh1Dih_UjWAMpaf9asEOJluhYL_CM3FATuVvVc/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8yM2U1/NjA3NjAzY2M1NDA0/ZDZkYTRiY2Y3Mjky/MTRmNi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}