Dive Brief:
- Mayo Clinic and Boston Scientific have created a new accelerator program aimed at developing medical technologies for unmet health needs, with a focus on minimally invasive treatments. The partners did not identify specific areas of research involved.
- The venture announced Monday, called Motion Medical, is expected to open in the fall with research facilities in Rochester, Minnesota.
- Neither party disclosed the financial details of the Motion Medical investment, but both have reportedly committed millions of dollars over three years to accelerate new treatments.
Dive Insight:
Mayo Clinic and device giant Boston Scientific have worked together for almost a decade on the development of new devices and technologies.
The two have filed eight patent applications together and collaborated on two first-in-human clinical trials. Projects span areas that include interventional cardiology, heart rhythm management, endoscopy, neuromodulation and urology.
In 2016, Mayo and Boston Scientific announced they would share intellectual property. At the time, two areas of research underway involved work on a catheter design to improve device delivery in aortic valve replacement, and a study of Boston Scientific’s spinal cord stimulation system in heart failure patients during exercise.
Mayo Clinic spokesperson Duska Anastasijevic told MedTech Dive in an email that in addition to the research supporting minimally invasive aortic valve replacement, a second first-in-man study expected to get underway this fall will involve a continent ostomy device.
Boston Scientific and Mayo have also worked together, along with the University of Minnesota and Medical Alley Association, on an accelerator program called gener8tor that helps mentor medical device, healthcare software, biotech and diagnostics startups. They also teamed in 2014 on the Optum Labs open collaborative healthcare research and innovation center.
Mayo works with other organizations as well, such its its collaboration with Arizona State University on a MedTech Accelerator that is supporting startups working in areas that include wearables, apps and monitoring devices. Mayo partnered with technology, engineering and science services provider Leidos earlier this year to develop products and services within the hospital's Life Sciences Incubator in Jacksonville, Florida.
