Georgia’s medical device industry is thriving, powered by visionary leaders and cutting-edge innovators who recognize the state’s strengths in capital-efficient design, development, and commercialization. Anchored in a dynamic and collaborative ecosystem, this industry not only drives advancements in patient care and health outcomes but also plays a vital role in fueling Georgia’s economic growth.
As the medical device innovation ecosystem in Georgia gains momentum, it is becoming not only more competitive with established stalwarts such as Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area, but arguably provides more value, due to the state’s lower cost of living and operational expenses.
Now, the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP), a program of Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2), is giving that advantage a boost.
To support this growing ecosystem, GaMEP recently welcomed medical device design, development, and commercialization experts Sanjana Singh, Rebecca Stonecipher, and Sarah Jo Tucker to its team.
Filling an ecosystem gap
By necessity, medical device innovation — including commercialization, manufacturing, and even packaging — is highly regulated for safety. The process is laden with risks that need mitigating across the commercialization lifecycle, as well as legal requirements and industry certification compliance. It is intensely rigorous, involving dozens of disciplines and requiring expertise to identify hazards that could lead an otherwise promising technology or company to fail.
The wealth of experience Stonecipher, Singh, and Tucker bring to the team fills critical gaps for innovators and gives GaMEP full-spectrum capability to take ideas from the “back-of-the-napkin” or the research phase through design, development, regulatory submission, and manufacturing.
Economic growth
The expanded team will enable GaMEP to help medical device research and technology fulfill its potential to improve patient care and outcomes. This approach, which aligns with GaMEP and EI2’s broader economic development goals in Georgia, is perfectly poised to grow the state’s medical device industry. Ultimately, the team’s work will enhance Georgia’s economy by helping entrepreneurs bring their ideas to market and by helping manufacturers improve their global market performance.
“After just a few months, we’ve already observed the tremendous potential our collaborative team holds for advancing medical device innovation,” Tucker said. “This early momentum not only inspires us but also reinforces our confidence that our combined expertise will lead to meaningful and transformative achievements.”
Research Commercialization
For university researchers, the new medical device team at GaMEP provides an additional expert resource to advance research into a capital-efficient, phase-gated process that takes ideas from early stages of market assessment and clinical input to regulatory submission and, ultimately, commercialization. The GaMEP team will also support other medical device innovators, including research hospitals, clinicians, startups, and manufacturers that serve the industry.
“Medical device innovators and the companies they create, like many small and mid-sized manufacturers, need help with strategy, process improvement, quality management, and other areas where GaMEP can fill in the gaps as a trusted, experienced advisor,” said GaMEP Director Tim Israel. “Adding specialized services for the medical device industry — such as design file history generation, industry-specific certifications, and experience navigating regulatory pathway — to our existing service offerings is a powerful lever capable of commercializing innovation, improving patient care, quality of life, and Georgia’s economy.”
Get in touch!
If you are a researcher, clinician, startup, or manufacturer in the medical device innovation ecosystem, get in touch. Together we can commercialize innovation that improves the human condition. Contact the medical device team or visit our medical device industry services page to learn more.
