Disruptions to the Healthcare Industry: 5 Takeaways From the 2019 Waterloo Innovation Summit

This year's Innovation Summit was a confluence of renowned experts from across the globe who delved deep into the current and anticipated disruptions in the healthcare industry. The summit highlighted five principal takeaways that we can draw from the discussions and deliberations.

1. Healthtech requires extra support in the early stages

At the conference's opening, Nobel Prize laureate Donna Strickland emphasized the importance of pure scientific research. She pointed out that many health applications are developed based on concepts discovered through fundamental scientific research. For instance, the first laser was invented in 1960, but it took until 1987 for the first laser eye surgery to be performed. Innovation may come to a standstill if research is solely focused on immediate medical applications. Therefore, it is crucial to continue supporting pure scientific research to drive innovation in various fields, including healthcare.

Healthcare startups often face challenges when seeking support, even after developing a promising health application. Unlike non-medical startups, medical technology startups require more time to launch a product due to regulatory hurdles and the need for clinical trials. As a result, the typical 3- to 5-year timeline expected by venture capitalists is not feasible for healthcare startups.

2. The next major disruptions will be in drug testing

One of the pressing concerns in medicine is that the rate of new drug discovery has stagnated. The cost of bringing a drug to the market is now $2-3 billion, and 95% of drug candidates fail at some stage in the drug pipeline. Consequently, the next significant disruption to pharmaceutical research is likely to be in the area of drug testing and research methods. At the Innovation Summit, we heard from several innovators who are improving the speed, efficiency, and reliability of drug research:

• Hendrik Walther, Co-Founder and CEO of OcuBlink presented his model for the human eye. The model simulates blinking and the spread of tears so researchers can weed out unpromising eye treatments before proceeding to clinical trials.

• Ronald Li of Novoheart grows "mini hearts" from stem cells that can then be used for high-throughput screening of drugs. 50% of drugs fail in clinical trials due to unexpected cardiovascular effects, and animal models are poor substitutes for the human heart.

• Jeff Crouse of Watermine Innovation presented an artificial intelligence that analyzes chemical structures and properties of known molecules to predict potential therapeutic uses, side effects, toxicities, and drug interactions.

3. We have the data. Now, we need to leverage it

We live in an age where vast amounts of data are passively collected on a daily basis. But that data essentially needs to be addressed. There is a sea of patient data from wearables and other devices, but that data is only helpful if structured and shared with the appropriate healthcare provider.

Clinicians generally seem reluctant to apply "big data" and artificial intelligence, at least in part because of liability. However, these concerns can be overcome by teaching clinicians how to interpret the data, how the data was collected, and the limitations. Innovators developing artificial intelligence for healthcare settings should aim for transparency and allow clinicians to see how a conclusion was reached.

4. Foster innovation through partnerships

Many of the barriers to developing health tech can be overcome through partnerships. Donna Strickland advocated establishing more robust partnerships between corporations and university researchers. Korea and Germany are known as technology giants partly because academic institutes embrace corporate alliances.

Partnerships between corporations and practicing clinicians are also needed. Often, clinicians have great ideas for improving patient care but may need help understanding what is commercially viable. For this reason, clinicians should seek corporate involvement at the early stages of research.

5. Protect innovation early

Because of funding restraints, many early-stage startups neglect their intellectual property ("IP"). However, it is vital to have an IP strategy in place from the start because once knowledge is made public, it can no longer be patented.

One way to protect IP on a budget is by filing a provisional patent application. Provisionals are an inexpensive way to claim an invention while postponing the expense of a full patent application. The regular application is filed a year later with refinements that occurred in the build-out or prototype stage. However, a weak provisional can make or break a patent because the provisional is the foundation for the full patent application. Accordingly, it is indispensable to consult a patent professional familiar and experienced with the requirements of a complete and strong provisional application.

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**The information provided herein is a general background of contractual, technology and intellectual property law concepts. It does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied upon as legal advice. Athena Innovation & Legal, nor the author, make no express or implied representations or warranties in respect of the information, including but not limited to the accuracy of the information.**