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george.leopold
Julia Spicer raised the issue of implementation of new patent reforms expected ...
Traces
C'mon, dude, spare me the Ayn Rand boilerplate. If you've ever started a ...
Post-election push seen for innovation ecosystem
George Leopold
10/29/2012 11:09 AM EDT
Medical electronics
In emerging technology sectors like medical electronics, Dent said innovation has so far been stifled by outdated regulations that have starved medical technology startups of the financing they need to invest in product development. Dent called the current regulatory environment “penny wise, pound foolish.”
Spicer agreed that health care deliver is emerging as a key sector for technology innovation, including product areas like IT, software and mobility. Driving down the cost of developing medical devices along with figuring out complex reimbursement formulas critical to the success of medical products remain unresolved.
"How that is addressed will be fundamental to how [the medical electronics] industry gets its hands around its cost structure,” said Spicer, who’s group represents angel investors, venture capitalists and private equity firms.
The details of U.S. patent reforms also will be rolled out after this year’s election, and Spicer said implementation of intellectual property rules is likely to be more “onerous” for technology startups.
Post-election, Dent said the U.S. technology sector needs to adopt a sense of urgency. Progress toward creating a renewed U.S. innovation ecosystem, she argued, must come in a series of small steps rather than a grand bargain among all stakeholders. To start, Dent concluded, “We must stop trying to solve yesterday’s problems.”
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In emerging technology sectors like medical electronics, Dent said innovation has so far been stifled by outdated regulations that have starved medical technology startups of the financing they need to invest in product development. Dent called the current regulatory environment “penny wise, pound foolish.”
Spicer agreed that health care deliver is emerging as a key sector for technology innovation, including product areas like IT, software and mobility. Driving down the cost of developing medical devices along with figuring out complex reimbursement formulas critical to the success of medical products remain unresolved.
"How that is addressed will be fundamental to how [the medical electronics] industry gets its hands around its cost structure,” said Spicer, who’s group represents angel investors, venture capitalists and private equity firms.
The details of U.S. patent reforms also will be rolled out after this year’s election, and Spicer said implementation of intellectual property rules is likely to be more “onerous” for technology startups.
Post-election, Dent said the U.S. technology sector needs to adopt a sense of urgency. Progress toward creating a renewed U.S. innovation ecosystem, she argued, must come in a series of small steps rather than a grand bargain among all stakeholders. To start, Dent concluded, “We must stop trying to solve yesterday’s problems.”
Related stories:
Yoshida in China: Which candidate can save U.S. jobs?
Manufacturing by design: New skills needed to compete
Time to play hard ball on tech manufacturing
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Bert22306
10/29/2012 3:59 PM EDT
Why not ask businesses, venture capitalists, and engineers, what it takes to innovate? I get a kick out of people in the periphery, politicians in particular, thinking that they can orchestrate innovation.
The best the politicians can do is to not punish business and not punish entrepeneurs. And then, please get out of the way.
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SylvieBarak
10/29/2012 4:29 PM EDT
I agree with Bert. If politicians had any talent for innovation, they wouldn't be in politics.
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Traces
10/30/2012 1:37 PM EDT
C'mon, dude, spare me the Ayn Rand boilerplate. If you've ever started a business, you would know that it's nearly impossible to get health insurance for a company of one or two. Office space is dear, and grunged-out coworking spaces are no substitute. Capital is nearly impossible to raise except for the "flavor of the month" niche.
There's a MILLION things that government should and must do to enable people to strike out on their own.
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Brian Fuller2
10/29/2012 6:30 PM EDT
I think innovation's going to be the easy part in the next several years. The technology groundwork of the past 20 years has laid a foundation to put innovation tools (if you will) in the hands of millions of people who never would have thought to execute on a crazy idea.
I think the bigger problem for innovation is scaling a small company as it grows to meet demand. That's where labor force issues, regulatory issues, etc. start to come into play.
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george.leopold
10/30/2012 10:00 AM EDT
Agree, scaling is the hard part.
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rick.merritt
10/30/2012 11:07 AM EDT
Dent's right. The climate for investing in medical electronics is about as bad as it is for semiconductors which makes no sense in our aging society.
I'm interested in what she meant about reforms yet to come in the patent system. I suspect we need patent reform reform.
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george.leopold
10/30/2012 8:41 PM EDT
Julia Spicer raised the issue of implementation of new patent reforms expected in 2013. She was referring to the details of implementation, Devil being in the details and so forth. Her take is that startups are likely to get the short end of the stick. We'll see.
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