Originally Published MX May/June 2003

BUSINESS PLANNING & TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

For medtech manufacturers, developing the coming generation of combination products will require a focus on business planning.

Ken Sumner

Any technology-based company is always searching for product innovations worth developing. That search can be especially arduous for medical device companies. However, one recent breakthrough in innovation has captured considerable attention and opened lucrative opportunities for device firms.

This breakthrough is the combination product, so called because it comprises two different types of regulated product components, generally either a drug and a device or a biologic and a device. While the idea of combining drugs and devices (and, less frequently, biologics and devices) is not new—prefilled syringes and metered-dose inhalers have been around for years—in the past most such products were developed by drug companies seeking to deliver their drug in novel ways. Now, device companies are energetically exploring means to integrate pharmaceuticals into their products.