Identifying Problems and Unmet Clinical Needs: Who to Talk to and Where to Look

Revenue from the sale of new products fuels the growth of many companies. It often plays a key role in a company’s strategic plan and justifies significant spending on research and development. To meet their goals for growth resulting from new product sales, medical device companies need to identify new market opportunities, evaluate and predict the associated potential returns on investment, and select the opportunities with the best potential for success. Although some opportunities result from finding applications for new technologies (technology push), many opportunities are based on products that meet unmet clinical needs (market pull). For these reasons, innovative companies are constantly trying to identify unmet clinical needs that can lead to new commercializable medical products.