Day TwoWednesday, 25 March 2026 - Western European Summer Time (WEST)

As the medtech sector faces sustained funding challenges, early-stage companies must adopt innovative approaches to secure investment. This panel brings together seasoned investors and successful founders to dissect the current funding landscape, which has seen significant contraction since the early 2020s boom period. With venture capital becoming increasingly selective and investors demanding stronger evidence of commercial viability earlier in the development cycle, medtech entrepreneurs need strategic guidance more than ever.

• Strategies to overcome funding contraction in the medtech sector amid tightening economic conditions and shifting investor priorities
• How leading VCs are assessing investment cases in today's risk-averse climate
• Practical approaches to attract investor interest despite market headwinds, including alternative funding sources and strategic partnerships

For many medtech startups, partnerships with established industry players represent a critical pathway to accessing resources, distribution channels, and specialized expertise. Join business development leaders and key partnerships stakeholders as they examine when and how emerging companies should pursue such relationships, and what makes them successful for both parties. Drawing on real-world examples of both successful and failed partnerships, the discussion will provide practical guidance on partnership models ranging from distribution agreements to co-development arrangements and eventual acquisition options. Understanding how large medtech companies evaluate potential partners, and what they truly value beyond technology, is essential for startups seeking to structure advantageous relationships that accelerate their growth while preserving their core value.

• Insights from corporate development teams on how they evaluate potential partners
• Types of partnerships available to emerging medtech companies at different development stages
• Assessment criteria beyond the technology itself

The regulatory landscape for medical devices continues to evolve on both sides of the Atlantic, creating complex strategic decisions for companies planning their development and commercialization pathways. This discussion examines the ongoing implementation challenges of the European Medical Device Regulation (MDR), which has fundamentally altered the time, cost, and evidence requirements for CE marking. In parallel, the discussion will explore how FDA pathways are evolving, with particular attention to the comparative advantages and disadvantages each regulatory approach offers to different device categories. With notified body capacity constraints in Europe and changing FDA program priorities, companies must carefully consider their regulatory strategy from the earliest development stages.

• Comparing regulatory pathways and their impact on commercialization strategy, including timeline implications, evidence requirements, and resource demands
• Evolving regulatory landscape insights on MDR implementation realities and FDA program developments
• The role of regulatory strategy on market access and leveraging regulatory precedents

The surgical robotics landscape is undergoing a profound transformation as the market moves beyond the pioneering era dominated by a single player. This timely analysis examines how new entrants are challenging established platforms through specialized applications, improved economics, and novel technical approaches. With hospital systems increasingly open to adopting multiple robotic platforms for different procedures, opportunities are emerging for focused innovations that address specific surgical needs. The panel will explore how market dynamics are evolving as competition intensifies and healthcare providers become more sophisticated in their evaluation of robotic surgery's clinical and economic benefits.

• Competitive landscape analysis examining the strategies of emerging challengers across different surgical specialties
• Niche application strategies enabling smaller robotics companies to gain market traction through procedure-specific innovations and economic value propositions
• How Europe compares to the US when it comes to surgical robotics readiness

After decades of underinvestment, women's health technology is getting the attention it deserves as investors and corporations recognize both the unmet needs and market opportunities in this space. Our panel moves beyond the initial wave of fertility and period tracking apps to explore the emerging landscape of medical devices specifically addressing women's health conditions across the lifespan. From innovations in minimally invasive gynaecological procedures to diagnostic advances for conditions that disproportionately affect women, the field is seeing unprecedented innovation activity. The discussion will examine how changing demographics, increasing women's economic power, and greater recognition of gender-specific health needs are creating commercial opportunities and investment cases for new women’s health technologies.

• Medical device innovation transforming areas including maternal health monitoring, gynaecological surgery, and female-specific diagnostics

• Market dynamics and growing corporate and investor interest in women's health solutions after years of underinvestment and limited innovation

• Emerging focus areas where the greatest unmet needs and commercial opportunities intersect

Changing global healthcare dynamics are creating compelling opportunities in global markets. Join our panel of investors and medtech executives as they explore how European medtech companies can develop successful commercialization strategies for emerging markets that may offer less competition, faster regulatory pathways, and significant unmet needs. As healthcare infrastructure develops rapidly across Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, first-mover advantages await companies willing to adapt their business models to these diverse environments.

• Opportunities in emerging markets where healthcare spending is growing rapidly and local competition may be less intense

• Revenue generation strategies in non-traditional markets, including innovative pricing models, distribution partnerships, and technology adaptation

• Building successful market entry plans that account for regional regulatory differences, reimbursement landscapes, and cultural factors

The medtech acquisition environment continues to evolve as large strategics reassess their portfolio priorities and new types of buyers emerge. Our panel discuss current exit opportunities against the backdrop of changing corporate strategies, private equity interest, and public market conditions. With traditional acquisition timelines lengthening and due diligence becoming more rigorous, companies must understand how to position themselves as attractive targets in this buyer's market. The discussion will also touch on the potential revival of the IPO pathway as market conditions potentially improve.

• Understanding current acquisition priorities of major corporations as they respond to healthcare delivery changes and economic pressures
• How BD teams assess companies for acquisition, and how to get on their radar
• IPO considerations in the changing financial landscape

A period of oversized funding rounds and inflated valuations has given way to a more measured approach to medtech financing. This timely discussion examines how companies can structure appropriate funding strategies that balance growth ambitions with market realities. As investors increasingly favour capital efficiency over rapid scaling, founders must recalibrate their expectations and funding roadmaps. The panel will explore how successful companies are adapting to this new normal by focusing on milestone-based financing and strategic resource allocation.

• Balancing growth ambitions with realistic company valuations in a market that increasingly scrutinizes burn rates and path to profitability
• The strategic shift toward smaller, more focused rounds with fewer investors and how this changes company development timelines
• Creating sustainable funding roadmaps for medtech startups that align with achievable technical and commercial milestones