In an interview with PharmaShots, Ilse Eder, CEO at E&E CRO Consulting shares her views on the breakthrough healthcare technologies to improve patient outcomes

Shots:

• Principal Technologies is an investor in the MedTech space. Its first investment is an 80% stake in E&E which is focused on helping companies earn international distribution permits via clinical studies 
• Principal Technologies focuses on identifying technologies with IP capable of improving patient outcomes by enhancing medical treatment quality, efficiency cost-efficiency, optimization of the patient & implementation of point of care technologies
• E&E can provide an in-house technical team & produce a deal flow pipeline that can earn revenue for the company via technical appraisal and due diligence

Tuba: What are some of the new trends and key themes that you are witnessing in clinical research?

Ilse Eder: In my opinion, there are currently three major trends in clinical research, these are the increased use of artificial intelligence, a reduction in the size of research teams, and the increased use of virtual meetings and communication.

One exciting trend that we are seeing across the board is that artificial intelligence is being incorporated into an increasing number of new medical devices.

On a less positive note, here is what I would call a dangerous trend in which more and more personnel are being cut from research facilities, particularly from clinics. This is a big problem that can have a major impact on the quality of research that the firm can produce. The pandemic has now even further exacerbated this problem to a point where many projects have come to a standstill.

Lastly, the pandemic has drastically increased the number of remote meetings that take place. While this initially seems as though it could eliminate travel and enhance productivity, in the research environment it is actually counterproductive and slows down progress because it is prone to produce errors and miscommunication.

Tuba: Why is there a need to bring new healthcare technologies into the market, especially as it relates to COVID-19?

Ilse Eder: The real need for new healthcare technologies comes from striving to improve the quality of life for all humankind. Usually, improvements in healthcare over time extend the life expectancy for everyone, while extreme problems like the pandemic are now reducing it. COVID-19 is a very good example of how new healthcare technologies, in this case, the revolutionary mRNA-based vaccine, can help fight this pandemic and save an enormous number of lives.

Healthcare technology development is moving in various directions, with research continuously improving the efficiency and efficacy of technologies that already exist, while also driving the development of completely new technologies that can revolutionize the healthcare environment. Examples of such innovations include mRNA vaccinations or CRISPR-9 and genetically personalized medication.

Tuba: How can we get great healthcare technologies to more geographic markets more efficiently?

Ilse Eder: For a healthcare technology provider to bring a new healthcare technology to many markets, it is important to have a multinational, or even better, a global presence. While this is possible for the big players in the industry, it is not as easy for the most innovative, new start-up companies that have only a small geographic presence. To solve this, I suggest that these startups use multi-center clinical research studies across many geographies because that can give them immediate exposure to those diverse markets, even before their new technology will be marketed there.

Tuba: Why were Principal Technologies interested in investing in E&E?

Ilse Eder: E&E was a very strategic acquisition for Principal Technologies because as a service provider in the healthcare / MedTech industry focused on helping companies earn international distribution permits via clinical studies, we can offer strong insight into the industry and the technologies that they may consider acquiring. Principal Technologies is focused on investing in companies that have achieved success regionally and that are ready for international rollout, so it made perfect sense to acquire a resource that could assess and support those companies to earn those international distribution permits.

E&E is also highly scalable and can provide an in-house technical due diligence team while also producing a deal flow pipeline that can concurrently earn revenue for the company via technical appraisal and due diligence.

Tuba: What are the terms of the investment in E&E CRO Consulting (financial terms, majority rights, shares exchange, etc.)

Ilse Eder: Principal Technologies acquired 80% of E&E and I retained ownership of 20% of the company and stayed on board as CEO. I chose to accept the purchase price almost entirely in shares of Principal Technologies because I believe heavily in the company’s strategy and the people and network behind it. This is a highly results and growth-oriented approach and I believe that this strategy can deliver extraordinary results and shareholder value.

Tuba: What are some of the ways that you evaluate the potential future success of healthcare technologies for the global market?

Ilse Eder: The first step is to assess the technology by benchmarking against the current standard of care to determine whether the technology can provide a better outcome than would justify the investment for the healthcare providers. We also constantly communicate with leading clinicians to understand other development efforts in the same field of care to evaluate the competitive situation. Putting both together gives us a relatively good picture of the future market potential for new technology.

Another benefit that we bring to the table is our broad expertise and continuous research into the latest developments in diverse fields of healthcare, which can help us to identify whether new technology could also have used in other fields in healthcare besides the targeted field.

Source: Health Europa

About Author:

 Ilse Eder is the CEO at E&E CRO Consulting. Ilse and her team have provided CRO services for many years and on numerous different clinical trials

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