Sean Fenske, Editor-in-Chief05.03.21
The medtech industry can be a complex organism that isn’t easily understood. There are a number of factors that impact the industry, including federal agencies that oversee what’s allowed to be sold and what is deemed unsafe for the public. Traversing the companies involved in the conception, design, product development, manufacturing, marketing, and logistics is no easy task.
Fortunately for Brian Johnson, the president of the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC), his exposure to it started at a young age. From there, he experienced several “touchpoints” with the industry prior to moving into his current role, which occurred in July 2018.
In the following interview, Johnson shares his connected background with the medtech community. He also offers his thoughts on a number of pandemic-related topics, from lessons learned to the need for changes in the supply chain. Johnson wraps up the discussion by revealing what factors he’ll be keeping an eye on, from FDA decisions to the happenings in Congress. Finally, he shares his opinion of the industry as a whole and what he thinks is ahead.
Sean Fenske: Can you share a bit of your background within the medical device industry?
Brian Johnson: In many ways, I grew up in the industry. When I was a little kid, my dad told me he had a new job selling surgical staplers. I was surprised because I had never heard of a stapler being used in surgery and that seemed kind of cool. Of course, I was very young, so the thrill wore off quickly and it just became my dad’s business. In my early 20s, he hooked me up with a colleague who worked at Stryker, who gave me a soft sell about following my father’s path into selling, but both of us quickly realized that wasn’t going to be in the cards.
It wasn’t until much later, when I was a business journalist in the Boston area, that I began to really think about this industry and what was unique about it. That led me to starting a publication covering the medtech industry, which is how I really became involved in the industry in a professional way. As a publisher for more than a decade, I really got a chance to dig into the people behind the technology and tell their stories, which cemented my appreciation for the space.
Fenske: In your opinion, what lessons were learned during the pandemic that could potentially be carried forward after it has passed?
Johnson: There are countless lessons to be learned from COVID-19. After all, there are very few moments in human history where the entire planet had a truly global moment, where we were all facing the same challenge and common enemy at the same time.
Given that, I choose to think about innovation and the key lesson I learned over the past year about adoption of new technology. Nearly every impactful technological innovation that we have used this year was a technology that had been on the market for years. Look at the technologies that “crossed the chasm”—telemedicine, video conferencing, and remote patient monitoring are all older technologies, which had underwhelmed and may have even been considered flops. Today, Zoom is worth more than American Airlines. The lesson is that we need a longer event horizon when thinking about technology. The cycles are much longer than we think.
Fenske: Based on challenges encountered during the pandemic, is there a need to rethink medtech’s supply chain?
Johnson: Yes, for the simple fact that when we needed it, the supply chain couldn’t keep up to global demand. This was especially acute in PPE, where the system basically fell apart. How can you not re-think a system that failed?
Fenske: Can the medical device manufacturing industry support a major reshoring effort with some segments already facing labor shortage concerns?
Johnson: Medtech is a global industry, so wholesale reshoring is unlikely. However, my hope is that more companies move from a “just in time” mindset to a “just in case” attitude when it comes to supply chain. Also, I think it would be beneficial for everyone if our companies prioritized domestic supply over foreign supply of raw goods and materials.
Fenske: What are your member companies saying to you is their concern as we begin to come out of the pandemic? Where will they be focused?
Johnson: Our members want to see a return to pre-pandemic volumes in elective procedures, which fell off a cliff in 2020. They want to see healthcare move from crisis mode back to whatever the “new normal” is, or means. I think our members are savvy enough to know that we may never fully return to what life was before COVID-19, so they’ve been planning ahead. There’s so many changes that will come from this past year, in terms of how it will impact medtech. We’re finally entering a true era of remote care monitoring and I anticipate the hospital business model itself will change with more specialized surgical centers replacing in-patient hospital procedures. And we haven’t even touched on what the workplace will look like moving forward. In short, there’s a lot of moving pieces and they’re trying to figure them out.
Fenske: With the new administration coming in as well as a new Congress, what will you be watching for in DC? What legislation is most important or are you keeping a watch on?
Johnson: We’re closely monitoring how CMS will implement the Breakthrough Products program, and we’re concerned about that delay on the ecosystem for new and innovative technologies. We’re paying very close attention to how this will progress. Additionally, we have a great interest in how the Administration will handle questions around domestic supply chain priorities.
Fenske: The FDA is rolling out new initiatives and regaining focus on priorities that were derailed by the pandemic. What is most important here?
Johnson: We’re in a year where the new user fees will be negotiated, so I think there will a tremendous focus on how much progress we’ve made in partnership with the FDA during this previous user fee period.
I think, at this moment, the most important thing we need from the FDA is predictability, modernization, and getting the agency back on track with non-EUA product. The technology our industry creates is evolving so fast that we need the FDA to be moving with us, in concert.
Fenske: What initiatives are you and MassMEDIC focused on to help your region and the industry?
Johnson: We believe New England is the greatest region in the world for medtech innovation. We are going to vigorously and aggressively tell that story. In addition, we’re doubling down on our IGNITE program for medtech startups, which has had tremendous success in a short period. Our graduates from the past two cohorts have raised more than $30 million in the past 12 months.
Additionally, we’re laser focused on making sure our industry is attracting diverse talent from all walks of the world. We think this is the best industry in the world and it’s time to make sure it’s the most diverse too, because it should be.
Fenske: Overall, what’s your outlook on the industry in the years ahead? What key issues do we face and what can we expect?
Johnson: Medtech and biotech just saved the world. I can’t think of a better time to be a part of this industry. The entire globe understands our value proposition in a way they never have before. We need to make sure we’re communicating and building on that premise. Issues will come and go but our mission must be crystalized and communicated.
Fenske: Before we wrap up, do you have any closing comments you’d like to share?
Johnson: I have never been more proud to be associated with this industry. The past year has been extremely challenging, but I’ve seen so many incredible acts of heroism and the best part—they’re scientists and engineers.
Fortunately for Brian Johnson, the president of the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC), his exposure to it started at a young age. From there, he experienced several “touchpoints” with the industry prior to moving into his current role, which occurred in July 2018.
In the following interview, Johnson shares his connected background with the medtech community. He also offers his thoughts on a number of pandemic-related topics, from lessons learned to the need for changes in the supply chain. Johnson wraps up the discussion by revealing what factors he’ll be keeping an eye on, from FDA decisions to the happenings in Congress. Finally, he shares his opinion of the industry as a whole and what he thinks is ahead.
Sean Fenske: Can you share a bit of your background within the medical device industry?
Brian Johnson: In many ways, I grew up in the industry. When I was a little kid, my dad told me he had a new job selling surgical staplers. I was surprised because I had never heard of a stapler being used in surgery and that seemed kind of cool. Of course, I was very young, so the thrill wore off quickly and it just became my dad’s business. In my early 20s, he hooked me up with a colleague who worked at Stryker, who gave me a soft sell about following my father’s path into selling, but both of us quickly realized that wasn’t going to be in the cards.
It wasn’t until much later, when I was a business journalist in the Boston area, that I began to really think about this industry and what was unique about it. That led me to starting a publication covering the medtech industry, which is how I really became involved in the industry in a professional way. As a publisher for more than a decade, I really got a chance to dig into the people behind the technology and tell their stories, which cemented my appreciation for the space.
Fenske: In your opinion, what lessons were learned during the pandemic that could potentially be carried forward after it has passed?
Johnson: There are countless lessons to be learned from COVID-19. After all, there are very few moments in human history where the entire planet had a truly global moment, where we were all facing the same challenge and common enemy at the same time.
Given that, I choose to think about innovation and the key lesson I learned over the past year about adoption of new technology. Nearly every impactful technological innovation that we have used this year was a technology that had been on the market for years. Look at the technologies that “crossed the chasm”—telemedicine, video conferencing, and remote patient monitoring are all older technologies, which had underwhelmed and may have even been considered flops. Today, Zoom is worth more than American Airlines. The lesson is that we need a longer event horizon when thinking about technology. The cycles are much longer than we think.
Fenske: Based on challenges encountered during the pandemic, is there a need to rethink medtech’s supply chain?
Johnson: Yes, for the simple fact that when we needed it, the supply chain couldn’t keep up to global demand. This was especially acute in PPE, where the system basically fell apart. How can you not re-think a system that failed?
Fenske: Can the medical device manufacturing industry support a major reshoring effort with some segments already facing labor shortage concerns?
Johnson: Medtech is a global industry, so wholesale reshoring is unlikely. However, my hope is that more companies move from a “just in time” mindset to a “just in case” attitude when it comes to supply chain. Also, I think it would be beneficial for everyone if our companies prioritized domestic supply over foreign supply of raw goods and materials.
Fenske: What are your member companies saying to you is their concern as we begin to come out of the pandemic? Where will they be focused?
Johnson: Our members want to see a return to pre-pandemic volumes in elective procedures, which fell off a cliff in 2020. They want to see healthcare move from crisis mode back to whatever the “new normal” is, or means. I think our members are savvy enough to know that we may never fully return to what life was before COVID-19, so they’ve been planning ahead. There’s so many changes that will come from this past year, in terms of how it will impact medtech. We’re finally entering a true era of remote care monitoring and I anticipate the hospital business model itself will change with more specialized surgical centers replacing in-patient hospital procedures. And we haven’t even touched on what the workplace will look like moving forward. In short, there’s a lot of moving pieces and they’re trying to figure them out.
Fenske: With the new administration coming in as well as a new Congress, what will you be watching for in DC? What legislation is most important or are you keeping a watch on?
Johnson: We’re closely monitoring how CMS will implement the Breakthrough Products program, and we’re concerned about that delay on the ecosystem for new and innovative technologies. We’re paying very close attention to how this will progress. Additionally, we have a great interest in how the Administration will handle questions around domestic supply chain priorities.
Fenske: The FDA is rolling out new initiatives and regaining focus on priorities that were derailed by the pandemic. What is most important here?
Johnson: We’re in a year where the new user fees will be negotiated, so I think there will a tremendous focus on how much progress we’ve made in partnership with the FDA during this previous user fee period.
I think, at this moment, the most important thing we need from the FDA is predictability, modernization, and getting the agency back on track with non-EUA product. The technology our industry creates is evolving so fast that we need the FDA to be moving with us, in concert.
Fenske: What initiatives are you and MassMEDIC focused on to help your region and the industry?
Johnson: We believe New England is the greatest region in the world for medtech innovation. We are going to vigorously and aggressively tell that story. In addition, we’re doubling down on our IGNITE program for medtech startups, which has had tremendous success in a short period. Our graduates from the past two cohorts have raised more than $30 million in the past 12 months.
Additionally, we’re laser focused on making sure our industry is attracting diverse talent from all walks of the world. We think this is the best industry in the world and it’s time to make sure it’s the most diverse too, because it should be.
Fenske: Overall, what’s your outlook on the industry in the years ahead? What key issues do we face and what can we expect?
Johnson: Medtech and biotech just saved the world. I can’t think of a better time to be a part of this industry. The entire globe understands our value proposition in a way they never have before. We need to make sure we’re communicating and building on that premise. Issues will come and go but our mission must be crystalized and communicated.
Fenske: Before we wrap up, do you have any closing comments you’d like to share?
Johnson: I have never been more proud to be associated with this industry. The past year has been extremely challenging, but I’ve seen so many incredible acts of heroism and the best part—they’re scientists and engineers.