Large medical device companies seem to spend more of their billions acquiring the scrappy startups that do the hard work, versus real in-house innovation of their own, experts tell Qmed's sister media outlet MD+DI. We'd like to hear your opinions about the situation. 

Qmed Staff

Big medical device companies seem more likely to acquire the smaller companies that have sweated through real innovation, versus doing it on their own, experts recently told Qmed's sister media outlet MD+DI. 

Cases of huge medtech outfits innovating inside--such as Medtronic's inside push to develop the now-FDA-approved Micra leadless pacemaker---appear to be an exception rather than the rule. And the experts blame the suits. 

"Large companies are very, very risk averse," says Giridhar Thiagarajan, an R&D engineer at Bard Access Systems (a division of CR Bard).

As MD+DI related it from Thiagarajan's talk on a panel at MD&M East in New York City, innovation is something that takes money and time. "And usually that doesn't float well when you look at it from a management perspective," Thiagarajan says. 

Do you agree? Why is it so hard for big medical device companies to innovate? Answer our survey below. 

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Chris Newmarker is senior editor of Qmed. Follow him on Twitter at @newmarker.

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[Image courtesy of Stanley Howe, CC BY-SA 2.0]