Catapult Merges with Smithwise to Form Archimedic

Two medical device development firms, Catapult Product Development Inc. and Smithwise Inc. have agreed to a merger in order to offer expanded medical device development capabilities to their clients. The new combined firm’s name is Archimedic.
 
“I’ve long described us as partner organizations,” said Eric Sugalski, founder and president of Smithwise. “We share the same values and mission, we serve the same customers, and we offer complementary strengths to device innovators.”
 
Though both firms bring mechanical, electrical, and software engineering capabilities to the medtech industry, they specialize in different areas—the Smithwise team skews towards mechanical engineering and industrial design, while the Catapult team has deeper electrical and software expertise in-house. “Together, we’ll be able to better serve our clients,” said Andy Ziegler, president of Catapult. “Instead of regularly bringing the other team in as a subcontractor to supplement existing capabilities, we’ll be able to make immediate decisions on project resourcing and expedite our response for clients. Eric and I began discussions last year after realizing that our clients will appreciate being able to directly leverage our combined expertise.”
 
The leaders of both organizations were emphatic about their desire to communicate that this is a partnership of equals. “We’d like our customers and strategic partners to understand this merger is a meeting of the minds, not a case of one firm being absorbed by the other,” said Sugalski. “We also want them to share our confidence that this relationship is already tried and tested—we’ve worked closely together for years across many different projects. In many ways, we’re acknowledging a reality that’s existed for some time and now we’re formalizing it. There will be some new questions to resolve in the coming months but, overall, we’re simplifying things for ourselves and our customers.”
 
Both engineers by background, Sugalski will serve the joint enterprise as CEO, while Ziegler fills the chief operating officer and chief technology offer roles. The new firm will combine their Boston-area offices with no staffing changes anticipated for the Boston or Philadelphia teams.

Sugalski explained how the companies settled on the name. “As we brainstormed a new name, we knew we wanted it to reflect the medical device industry we serve.” Hence the -medic part. “But,” he continued, “we also latched onto this character of Archimedes. He was a truly remarkable figure in ancient history—an engineer, mathematician, inventor, and strategist. Though he discovered solutions to different types of problems in a long-ago era, our team takes inspiration from his creative legacy as we solve modern-day healthcare challenges.”

The firm’s logo is inspired by the Stomachion of Archimedes, a dissection puzzle wherein pieces are arranged in various configurations to form a square. The Archimedic icon is a section of the best-known Stomachion solution.

“There are more than 500 ways to assemble the fourteen pieces of the Stomachion puzzle,” said Zielger. “Each solution is challenging and elegant in its own way. To us, this was a clear analogy for what we do here. Many technical, regulatory, clinical, and commercial factors come into play during the medical product development process. At Archimedic, our role is to work alongside clients and determine how these pieces best fit together to uniquely solve their commercialization puzzle.”
 
Founded in 2012, Catapult is a full-service medical device development firm, specializing in console-based diagnostic and therapeutic systems, minimally-invasive surgical and diagnostic tools, and a wide array of portable and handheld medical equipment. We work extensively with startups to enable their core technologies, as well as supporting leading device manufacturers and academic centers as they accelerate critical device development projects towards commercialization. 
 
Founded in 2009 as Boston Device Development, Smithwise is a medical device developer that helps innovators struggling with technical, regulatory, or manufacturing challenges with their next new product. Its clients span top-tier academic hospitals, established medical device manufacturers, and venture-backed startups. The company specializes in connected medical devices, wearables, and surgical systems; its client projects range from proof-of-concept prototypes to high-volume production design and manufacturing transfer.