Medtech in the Mountains at the MPO Summit 2024

The fall represents a lot of different things for many people. It marks the end of summer. It reintroduces everything flavored with pumpkin spice. The return of football all day on Sundays. The changing of the leaves. Halloween. Thanksgiving. I could go on.

For many in the industry, however, the fall marks the return of tradeshows and events. And for us at MPO more specifically, it is the time of year we hold our MPO Summit. The five-city rotation has us pulling the event into Denver in 2024, hosted by the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.

Those who have attended the intimate networking and educational event in the past know just how much is jammed into the day-and-a-half proceedings. With 10 educational sessions coupled with plenty of time dedicated to networking to meet with new industry contacts and potential suppliers, the MPO Summit caters exclusively to the medical device manufacturing audience.

Biased as I am, I think this year’s conference sessions are shaping up to be some of the best we’ve had (candidly, I of course say this every year; fortunately, I truly believe it each time too).

We’ll kick things off with a taste of the local flavor. While breakfast will be served, that’s not to what I’m referring. Rather, we’ll get insights about the region from the president and CEO of the Colorado BioScience Association, Elyse Blazevich. She’ll provide a brief facts and figures type of offering to see if Colorado is the right place in which to conduct business or, in an era of nearshoring, perhaps open a new facility to bring manufacturing back closer to customers.

Providing this year’s State of the Industry (a staple session at the MPO Summit) is Ben Dunn, managing director at Covington Associates—a healthcare investment banking firm. Primarily focused on M&A activity within the industry, Dunn will highlight trends and transactions impacting both the OEM and supply side. He’ll provide his perspective on how shifts will have lasting effects on relationships between companies and their supply chain partners.

Following up immediately after this presentation will be a lively discussion of the points and issues brought up during the State of the Industry. A panel with representatives from across the industry will provide color on the facts and figures Dunn provides. The panel will discuss how the points addressed could impact their portion of the market. Further, they are free to share alternative opinions that may run counter to those previously offered. The conversation will gain additional value should the audience choose to engage as well.

After the first of several networking breaks, Tim Gooch of SGS will take the stage to provide a deep dive into MDSAP (the Medical Device Single Audit Program) to explain its value to medical device manufacturers and how they can use it to access global markets with minimal effort. He’ll provide anecdotal insight from personal experience on what device makers should be doing now and what he expects to come from FDA. Gooch will also supply information on the benefits of the MDSAP, including how it prevents scheduled visits from the agency.

The Pulse of the Industry report from EY is always much anticipated by members of industry for the data and information it conveys. At this year’s Summit, a representative from the organization will provide some highlights from the latest report during a session. Following the presentation, a panel of industry representatives will then discuss many of the topics featured and their potential impact on the medtech manufacturing and healthcare landscapes.

Exploring the digital transformation of medtech and, perhaps more importantly, what that means will be the task of another panel of industry representatives. Speaking to everything from cybersecurity and data privacy to reimbursement and regulatory concerns, this group will tackle an array of factors all contributing to this shift as well as the challenges it brings.

Still another panel will take a long look at the supply chain and the disconnect between device maker and supply partner. The impact of the pandemic and a number of subsequent events following it has caused many to reevaluate relationships, seek new partners, and establish back-up plans for their sourcing needs. This panel will discuss the vision for the new supply chain make-up and the implications for those involved.

This only represents a portion of the educational platform in place for the 2024 MPO Summit. To explore the full agenda, speakers, sponsors, venue, and more, visit mposummit.com. Hope you can join us for this year’s event. 

Sean Fenske, Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]

Register for the MPO Summit here!