Ever have a bright idea for a better retractor, implant, procedure—you name it—but needed engineering, financial and/or operational help to get from step 1 to 100?
A new firm, named “pitch sink”, was officially launched on May 1, 2024, to make that physician inventor’s journey easier and more likely to succeed.
According to pitch sink’s (lower case) CEO and Founder Steven Flutie-Davis, pitch sink is a two-way talent marketplace which is a first-of-its kind medtech-focused collaborative platform dedicated to carrying early-stage ideas through the journey to market-ready solutions.
“Our goal is to transform how medical devices are developed by returning autonomy to physicians, independent innovators and lean startups,” said Flutie-Davis to OTW. “pitch sink connects medical professionals and device innovators to industry leaders and investors, untangling the innovation process and allowing inventers to achieve maximum efficiency.”
pitch sink’s process is based on a platform of vetted consultants where ideas and feedback can be shared, ultimately resulting in an accelerated path from concept to reality.
Often, would-be entrepreneurs are reluctant to even get started given the daunting hurdles required to bring med-tech to market. “Throughout my career I’ve noticed several obstacles for surgeons wanting to develop a product”, said Flutie-Davis, “and while a lot of the ideas are not necessarily very large concepts, these smaller projects sometimes make a larger impact on surgical procedures.”
“If a physician wants to develop a product in the current environment, they have only a few options. One is to pitch their concept to whatever medical device company they can access…but 9 times out of 10 the company will use the ‘slow no’ concept, meaning it takes around four months to be told ‘we love the concept, but we can’t take that on board at this time.’”
“Alternatively, the surgeon can try to find a developmental agency and hope their concept fits. These agencies aren’t typically easy to find, and they typically have a long response window from the initial inquiry.”
One of pitch sink’s key features is that it connects innovators to specific funding resources—specifically Physicians First Bancorp, Inc, a Des Moines, Iowa-based financing firm which offers loans and other resources (private banking, for example) for physician inventors.
“The landscape of physician reimbursement and overhead is changing, and we believe that by empowering physicians to take a more active role in the economics of their practices, we can drive positive, sustainable change,” said Marty Nichols, co-founder of Physicians First Bancorp, Inc., a 30-year medical device veteran.
Nichols, who began his career at DePuy Orthopedics, holds three patents in robotic-assisted surgery and collaborates with doctors to design and manage physician-owned outpatient surgical hospitals.
“Physicians, their patient relationships and hard work is the basis of most of the business verticals in MSK [musculoskeletal],” Nichols told OTW. “Our collaboration with pitch sink aligns perfectly with our mission, leveraging their innovative platform to give physicians the tools and opportunity to better capture the revenue they drive and need to thrive.”
Funding, Logistics and Manufacturing
“Partnering with Physician First Bancorp was a strategic move to ensure physicians have all the necessary resources to develop their product from concept to commercialization,” explained Flutie-Davis, “during the job flow process a physician will inquire about financing opportunities and will then be connected to Physicians First Bancorp, Inc., where they will receive access to a private banker to address any financial needs.”
pitch sink is also creating a network of strategic partnerships across various sectors including finance, inventory management, and manufacturing. These partnerships are designed to ensure that innovators have access to all the necessary tools and resources at every stage of the development and commercialization process.
Finally, according to Flutie-Davis, “pitch sink also features a Physician Advisory Consulting Committee, which includes some of the leading minds in the orthopedic sector. This committee plays a crucial role in mentoring up-and-coming innovators and ensuring that all products developed through pitch sink meet the highest standards of efficacy and safety.”
“With pitch sink, the future of medical device innovation is bright, and most importantly, it’s in the hands of those who understand patient needs the most—our physicians.”
Good idea. Many established device companies don’t want to take the risk of funding new innovations and they often want to protect existing market share by keeping new disruptive technologies out of the market. I think this new forum would benefit from hearing about new materials such as ours that offer surgeon inventors new design freedoms, such as predictable degradation by surface erosion, tuneable mechanical properties, 3D printability into complex shapes and shape memory.