Growing Global—Gracefully 3508

Originally Published MX November/December 2003

BUSINESS PLANNING & TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

With careful planning, overseas expansion may be a medtech company's best pathway to growth.

Moderated by Steve Halasey

In a rapidly globalizing economy, U.S. medical technology enterprises of every size and type are thinking of selling their products abroad just as soon as they can arrange the regulatory approvals and the logistics. The process of going global isn't easy, especially for smaller companies. But help is available.

And foresight is key. Consideration of every aspect of the endeavor, starting from the moment overseas marketing or operational expansion is contemplated, is necessary to ensure steady progress toward launching in a foreign market.

Intellectual property (IP) protection, adoption and reimbursement, distribution, facility siting, and regulations pertaining to document translation are among the topics discussed by several experts in global growth from the company perspective with whom MX spoke (see sidebar).

MX: How important is international intellectual property protection for medical device companies?