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Entrepreneurship Opportunities for Health Tech During COVID-19

Luis Fernandez - TINC CMMS
Founder and CEO

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Miriam Bello By Miriam Bello | Senior Journalist and Industry Analyst - Thu, 06/11/2020 - 12:29

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Q: What is the current situation for medical devices in Mexico amid the COVID-19 crisis?

A: The national healthcare industry and sector are in crisis. Healthcare facilities and professionals are struggling to get both Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and medical devices during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a certain loss of control on how to safely meet the needs or demand of our healthcare facilities, as well as in the assessment of the current offers manifested by companies. These needs are not only related to mechanical ventilators and N95 respirators, but also for basic COVID-19 testing materials such as cotton swabs.

There is a shortage of supplies in the healthcare sector and a big challenge for countries that depend mainly on foreign solutions; such is the case of our country. Regardless of the multiple efforts carried out by regulatory agencies, we face a big problem that relies on validating the safety aspects of PPE and devices being developed by companies and citizens as a crisis response.

In recent weeks, a great number of companies, entrepreneurs and technology enthusiasts that have never offered medical products or services before, have pivoted their current offers towards the healthcare sector. I understand that this situation, aside from being a health crisis is also an economic crisis, and while some businesses are at risk, we must understand that pivoting towards healthcare is not that simple; we are dealing with human lives and each piece of equipment or material developed to fill a shortage gap is going to be used by and on people.

Mexico has demonstrated that it is a very united country that responds whenever its need. Remembering the very unfortunate event of the 2017 earthquake, the support offered by our society was simply overwhelming. While this is also a contingency and our country has actively responded towards it, many initiatives lack focus on the needed safety aspects of PPE and medical devices; it’s not just a matter of building machines or sewing cloth.

People and companies manufacturing ventilator prototypes, facemasks, and hand sanitizers need to understand the responsibility and risks that come with these types of products. According to the World Health Organization, medical equipment are devices used by healthcare professionals to diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate patients or their injuries. Regardless of the brand, certifications, time in market, and research, these devices can represent mechanical, electrical, radiological, chemical, biological, and other risks for patients and users. As a biomedical engineer, I wonder how the current COVID-19 health tech initiatives are measuring and assessing these risks as “manufacturers/makers”.

Every prototype is being developed to be used on patients due to shortage, so if the product is a prototype or a validated product; its objective is, or intends to, treat a patient and regulations, best practices and manufacturing standards should not be taken for granted.

I understand that universities, small manufacturing firms or even individuals, may not have the resources to meet certain regulations, but what is important is that all the possible risks these prototypes represent for medical staff and patients’ is in the top of our mind, when developing medical devices, we can not spare safety. If we do not start regulating what the medical staff and the patients are using, instead of overcoming this crisis we are going to face a new one in the near future.

Q: How could Mexico boost its medical devices industry?

A: First, we need to establish a result-driven dialogue between our healthcare leaders and health technology specialists and experts to define what will the scope and possibilities are during the current and upcoming health contingencies. The National Center for Health Technology Excellence (CENETEC) has done a wonderful job on building capable teams of experts that currently help the government both manage and assess medical technology.

Their ongoing collaborations with prestigious academic institutions, such as the Autonomous Metropolitan University, has provided them scientific validations to keep up with technology evolution and safety factors. However, the country is simply too big for a small group of professionals, which represents an immediate opportunity to hire more experts that will be involved in establishing the correct path for the industry and our country.

Secondly, we are a country that greatly depends on foreign technology, and it is evident that this dependency is now hitting us harder than ever. Although we are one of the greatest hubs for medical devices manufacturing worldwide, our national industry is not well-enough established to develop our own healthcare technology. We need to motivate our entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs with monetary resources destined for medical technology research, as well as to facilitate the safety assessment process for newly developed technologies. There are many students in Mexico that have developed great projects during their studies and unfortunately, many of them end up on shelves as trophies for their hard work. Can you imagine the growth our industry can have if we set the means to help them assess their projects and guide them on the next steps for medical device validation and market introduction? Mexico already has the talent it needs, we just need more awareness and proof of concept.

For many years, our regulatory system has been the biggest barrier we face when introducing new and innovative medical technology, as it has not been very helpful in boosting nationally developed technology adoption and preparing for a situation like the one face today. Mexican entrepreneurs may have an idea but obtaining their sanitary registrations could take years. Consolidating this industry could mean more capacity to face any health crisis and to boost Mexico and its capacity as a country.

The same applies for big companies. Automotive companies, for example, have the knowledge, capacity and infrastructure to manufacture, but again, most of them lack experience or knowledge on the medical field. The automotive industry is the perfect candidate to assemble equipment and could be used to multiply the number of available devices if they receive proper guidance.

Q: How ready is Mexico regarding medical devices supply?

A: The world has a big shortage of important materials and equipment needed to test and treat patients that are currently suffering the consequences of COVID-19. Mexico is no exception in this scenario. While Mexico is a successful assembler for the medical device industry, the tech we assemble is mostly of foreign design like Medtronic or GE Healthcare is generally shipped outside the country for its distribution. In short, our country is mostly participating in hard labor and is currently failing in pursuing a health tech innovation culture. It is time for our national industry to start renovating itself to produce national solutions for national needs.

Distribution and logistics are also topics that should be discussed as many investors and citizens have shown their great willingness to donate money, equipment, and materials to facilities that critically need help. Although it may seem obvious, it is not that easy to guarantee that the receiving person will actually use these resources in the facility it was sent to.

Alongside Hacking Health Monterrey Chapter, we recently created a nonprofit initiative called COVID3D.MX , a platform that connects healthcare facilities with equipment, material or service providers. The platform allows any facility to request materials, devices, and services, and also allows providers to register their current offer. COVID3D.MX’s team engages with experts on different fields to coach buyers during procurement processes by giving them advice on relevant product, service, and company characteristics that will help them detect fraudulent companies. This initiative was founded and funded by very talented and creative Mexican entrepreneurs from Hacking Health Monterrey, Blooders.org, Bionovation, AMMA3D, GSE Biomedical, and TINC. 

While our country is yet to be ready regarding medical device supply, we believe that assessing demand and offer will bring us closer to where resources should be allocated to help the most needed during these difficult times. We need to set things into motion by supporting national entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship and enhancing our current regulation to facilitate growth in the next years.

 

TINC CMMS is a software used to produce key data about medical equipment performance, availability and risk in healthcare institutions

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