By Jim Welch, EY Global MedTech Leader, Health Sciences and Wellness

On August 4, 2020, AdvaMed and EY hosted the first in a series of MedTech CEO roundtables bringing together senior leaders, many of whom are part of AdvaMed’s Accel program for smaller medtech companies. Moderated by Jim Welch, EY’s Global Medical Technology Leader, and Andrew C. Fish, Chief Strategy Officer at AdvaMed, the group’s discussion focused on the response of the medtech industry to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the key questions they addressed:

• How have companies pivoted to address the challenges of the pandemic?
• What lessons have been learned, from the perspective of company leadership and culture?
• In what ways have the needs of medtech’s customers changed during the crisis, and how can the industry help?
• How can companies balance the demands and opportunities of COVID-19 with normal business operations?
• With the crisis ongoing, how can the industry address the financing challenges it raises?
• Finally, what will be the enduring impact of the events of 2020 – How will the COVID-19 challenge reshape the medtech industry, in the now, next and beyond?

In all of these areas, there was a fascinating array of responses from the group. A detailed report on the discussion is presented in the newly-published executive summary,  How Medtech is addressing the challenges and opportunities of COVID-19 .

The impact of the pandemic will continue to be felt over the next 3-5 years, according to the estimates of the roundtable’s participants. Until vaccine development and expanded tested programs can successfully contain COVID-19, the challenges and opportunities discussed in this roundtable will need to stay at the forefront of medtech’s strategic thinking   

The discussion also opened other topics for future exploration, including the challenges of international expansion in the current geopolitical climate. EY and AdvaMed intend to convene future roundtables, which represent an ongoing opportunity to enrich and deepen conversations and collaborations across the medtech ecosystem.