The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the transformation of business models in the life sciences sector, with digital initiatives at the forefront. The combination of rapidly changing technologies and the disruption of traditional healthcare models is accelerating the integration of medical technologies - digital healthcare, wearable devices, AI-based offerings, diagnostics, telemedicine and other healthcare IT solutions. -In healthcare. Here are ten global medtech topics we will follow next year:

Focus on digital and data assets in life sciences / healthcare M&A

Worldwide, life sciences, private equity and other financial investors focus on the value of digital and data assets as they explore potential targets. We expect to see the same ongoing consolidation of digital healthcare players in the Ginger Headspace merger lines, as well as other acquisitions from Big Tech and Big Pharma, such as the Cra's Oracle acquisition, which will bring complementary datasets, skills and capabilities from different parts, regions and in-house specialties to improve the range of products and services.

Continued interest in private equity and other financial sponsors

Financial sponsors place greater emphasis on technology in their portfolios and life sciences and medtech combine key positive attitudes from both sectors. Like traditional technology offerings, medtech offers usually have a shorter market time compared to traditional life sciences. In addition, the medical technology market is fragmented and represents an opportunity to acquire and rapidly integrate more companies in order to achieve cost energy and create value by scaling and building a platform.

In addition, demographic trends - such as population aging, rising morbidity, lack of health skills, the need to reduce health care costs and an evolving market where access to care increases the demand for life sciences across the global sector, but especially medtech-supported solutions. In addition, unlike other healthcare sub-sectors, medical companies are always well placed to serve both healthcare providers (B2B) and patients (B2C) and offer a different business model.

Adding to the complexity of strategic cooperation in the field of medtech. In response to further regulatory oversight and the complexity of cross-border data transfers, we expect an increase in the number of complex strategic co-technology cooperations. As with other life sciences, we expect increased use of pilot / assessment times, options and other cooperation structures to prepare parties for changing transactions. We also expect some healthcare players to explore alternative structures, such as consortia and alliances, in pursuing their business and other strategic goals.

Ongoing control by antitrust and competition authorities

We expect global antitrust and competition authorities to continue to focus on the technology, life sciences and medicine sectors. In particular, we expect the US Antitrust Offices (ie the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission), the UK Competition and Markets Authority, the European Commission and the European National Competition Authority to continue to exercise their overlapping - but sometimes other - powers. implement and cooperate across the Atlantic in order to control the integration of medical technologies, in particular for cooperation with large technology companies. 

In addition, we expect the authorities to explore and evaluate new theories of competition in order to take into account the amount of data and the possible use of the novel in the combined datasets that can be obtained from medical mergers and acquisitions. We also expect greater interest in standards-based platform architectures to facilitate interoperability and easy data transfer between medical technology platforms and other technology platforms.

More active FDA / EMA involvement

Technology, retail and fitness companies are expected to enter into negotiations with the US Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"), the European Medicines Agency ("EMA") and other regulators, such as companies ploring new medical and construction companies.

In response to industry needs and the growing amount of data that can be collected remotely through connected devices and other medical technology offerings, we expect the FDA / EMA to provide additional guidelines for use of digital health aspects.

More support for digital Increased support for digital health solutions in Europe
 
The COVID-19 pandemic insisted on the need for cost control measures and an increase in the number of online pharmacies that provide access to virtual patient care.

In 2022, we expect greater demand for digital health funds and payment solutions in continental Europe, especially in Germany and Switzerland. We also expect the growing use of digital therapeutics that will effectively complement traditional treatments, as well as the development or further development of a legal framework for digital certification in some countries with applications to achieve digital therapeutic status and compensation.

Development of digital health ecosystems in the Asia-Pacific region

Given the favourable political environment - with Singapore probably running its Diagnostic Development Hub as a national platform for medical technology development - we have seen that many Asian countries offer new companies with high visibility for healthcare investors, stakeholders and decision makers.

We have already seen Asian governments focus on digital health policy at the national level by accelerating the adoption of comprehensive electronic health records and public-private partnerships. In addition, we have seen convergence of regulatory standards in Asia (especially ASEAN countries) and international standards. By 2022, we expect more medical tools to be adopted to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and convenience of healthcare in Asia.

Long-term adoption of telemedicine, virtual care and support based on artificial intelligence

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen the loosening of many regulations, especially in the field of telemedicine. Many of the concerns that have traditionally delayed the adoption of telemedicine, such as fraud and abuse of patients and providers, have not been met.

We expect a growing use of virtual care and AI-based tools to support clinical decision-making in the areas of remote patient monitoring, digital pathology and radiology systems. Some specialties, such as mental health, can be permanently transferred to a virtual model in certain geographical areas. With these changes, players across the ecosystem need to pay more attention to data protection and cyber security. Consumer and patient data insurance is a major concern for supervisors and legislators around the world.

More investment in patient-centered business models.

In 2022, we expect corporate VCs and other investors to invest more in personalized and scalable patient-cantered solutions. By linking telemedicine with the diagnosis of mail order business and the collection of data on wearable devices, a very detailed patient profile can be created if the patient does not visit the surgery. 

These digitized profiles can then be implemented through artificial intelligence-driven solutions and make recommendations for care, health and more. Instead, such recommendations can be applied to appropriate drugs adapted to the unique biology and behaviour of the patient, optimally increasing efficacy and adherence to drugs while minimizing side effects. Such data can also be used in mobile and augmented reality / virtual reality applications so that patients can "gamify" and improve their health and wellness.

ESG digital health

Health and safety is an important sub-trend of the "social" element of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. Job mobility is increasing and retaining talent is difficult. As a measure to facilitate employee retention and reduce employee health care costs, the company especially appreciates the support of the physical and mental health of employees.

Employees are increasingly looking for new solutions to improve their well-being, and owners and insurance companies are responding by providing better access to digital health services and medical support, such as digital on-demand psychiatric services and virtual chronic care programs. We expect companies to continue to transact and seek new opportunities to provide more health management tools to their employees.

In addition, we look forward to investing in medical solutions that support healthcare by reducing structural barriers that contribute to health inequalities.

In conclusion, we expect exponential growth in medicine over the last two years to continue until 2022.

We expect 2022 to be an important year in medicine as the world moves towards a post-pandemic future. The rapid growth and rapid development of business models will present new challenges for medical space entities and for national and supranational agencies in charge of their regulation. 

Although we see certain patterns of interoperability emerging, medtech innovators are still coming up with a mosaic of laws, regulations and practices around the world. For this reason, companies that take a global approach to monitoring the design and implementation of their medical products and services will reap dividends in such evidence in the future as they measure their profits.