New joint venture aims to speed up medical device development
13 May 2013
A design firm, a teaching hospital and two specialist businesses have formed an alliance to speed the development of innovative medical devices.
Rear left: Matthew Theobald; centre: Dr Darren Clement; right: Doug MacArthur. Front left: David Mills and right: Fiona Theobald
Haughton Design is joining forces with the University Hospital of North Staffordshire (UHNS) and two other specialist businesses, Three Circles & Linki, to provide an innovative approach to product development for the notoriously sluggish medical devices industry.
This group is the driving force behind the new ‘Medical Devices Alliance’ which aims to provide expertise to speed up medical device development for a range of clients, from technology start-ups to international pharmaceutical companies.
The collaboration with UHNS, Three Circles Consulting and Linki Limited will mean clients gain ready access to clinicians, patients and recognised industry expertise throughout the development process.
Dr Darren Clement, Research and Development Manager at University Hospital, said: “Companies developing new medical devices will be able to access a ‘one stop shop’ for the development of their products. This is great for University Hospital but more importantly for our patients and staff as they will be able to inform and contribute to the look, feel and function of these products, before they get into clinics.”
David Mills, Managing Director for Haughton Design Limited, added: “Everyone in the Medical Devices Alliance is really pleased to have launched this venture so quickly after our first meeting. The timing is perfect as we have just won accreditation of our design services to the internationally recognised standard, ISO 13485:2003.”
“Our focus is on helping our clients to speed up medical device development so that products reach the market more quickly, and therefore sooner benefit patient health. Launching within three months from our first exploratory meeting demonstrates just how committed we all are to getting things done efficiently.”
“Working with University Hospital also provides many advantages which will speed up development through ready access to clinicians and patient groups. Personally, I am very proud to have been involved in creating the MDA, and with strong interest in our services from a number of large international companies already, it’s very exciting for everyone involved.”
For more information about the Alliance, click here.