Many people have great ideas for new products, whether they are general in nature or specific to a particular industry, such as healthcare. Only a small percentage of us actually does anything with those ideas, though, and fewer still know how to navigate the steps necessary to successfully bring their product idea to life. While it is inevitable that mistakes will be made along the way, hopefully most of these mistakes will be of the healthy variety—ones that are relatively minor and from which you can glean valuable information—versus the sort that cost excessive time and financial resources at best and derail your idea at worst.
Through our 10+ years of experience in working with inventors looking to commercialize their product idea, we have gained a solid understanding of common mistakes that can derail a first-time inventor. Most of these mistakes can be avoided with the correct approach—analytical versus emotional—proper time devoted to any necessary “homework” and careful selection of the right people or companies with whom to partner.
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In our “Top Medical Invention Mistakes Inventors Make” eBook, we detail the top 14 most common mistakes we witness, five of which are below:
Mistake 1: Putting the Cart—or in this Case, the Patent—Before the Horse
Patents protect an inventor’s exclusive rights to their invention and give an inventor a “mini monopoly” on his product idea for the duration of the patent life. In theory, you can prevent others from making, selling or using your invention (or its functional equivalent) for a 20-year period from the date the patent application is first filed. Plus, a United States patent provides protection throughout the U.S. and prevents the importation of infringing products from elsewhere in the world.
This all sounds wonderful, which is why many inventors rush to patent their idea as one of the first steps. But this process can easily cost $10,000 or more when there is actually other, more critical work that should be done first. Remember that a patent does not guarantee you a sufficient number of interested customers. Likewise, holding a patent on a great idea does no good if you have exhausted your budget on the patent and now cannot afford to design, manufacture and market the product.
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Intellectual property (or IP) gets pretty complicated in the healthcare space. Freedom to Operate is a term that typically means “to determine whether a particular action, such as testing or commercializing a product, can be done without infringing upon valid intellectual property rights of others.” Since IP rights are specific to different geographic jurisdictions, a thorough “freedom to operate” analysis should be done related to particular countries or regions where you want to operate. Alternatively, if your idea has not yet been patented by anyone else, you need to be reasonably sure that it actually can be patented; otherwise, you won’t be able to offer any market exclusivity to a vendor. Without market exclusivity, it is unlikely any manufacturer will pay to license your invention.
While understanding existing products and patent filings are indeed critical steps in your product development process, they should never come before a complete product evaluation and market analysis.
Mistake 2: Over-estimating the Size of Your Market
Inventors routinely presume the realistic market for their products is exponentially larger than it actually is. Make no mistake: friends, family and pretty much everyone else loves an invention—right up until the point at which you ask them to actually purchase it.
Even if you’ve done your research and you’ve determined that nothing like your idea already exists, you still need to decide if your product is something that people will actually buy. Your first step in market research is to determine if there’s a viable market for your product—a market large enough and receptive enough to make producing your product worthwhile. For example, if your idea provides an innovative alternative to the common adhesive bandage, it’s probably safe to assume that there is a very large potential market. But if it’s an adhesive bandage alternative tailored specifically for patients suffering from 3rd degree burns, you’ve got a much more narrow audience, and should therefore take time to carefully determine the total number of potential customers and understand their specific needs before you proceed. It is worth noting that a bigger market is not always better. In fact, small, targeted markets sometimes have less competition and marketing to them is often less expensive than to a broad audience. The point is to determine whether any market, no matter its size, is a receptive one.
With medical inventions, it is also important to understand the current standard of care. In the consumer world, we talk about a new invention fulfilling an unmet consumer need, but in the medical world, no important need is ever ignored. It is important to ask yourself these questions: What is the best alternative that hospitals, physicians or patients are using now? Why is there still a need? Is the current standard of care too expensive? Does it not work very well? Does it take too long or require too much manpower?
Only when you understand all the costs, inputs and outcomes of the current standard of care can you really determine that your new standard is better. For information about determining your idea’s ROI, please see “Analyze the ROI of Your Innovation Idea, Step by Step.”
Mistake 3: Doing Everything Yourself
Which trade shows should you attend? Which manufacturers are most open to considering a new item from an outside inventor? Who ultimately makes the final purchasing decision for products like yours? Are there other key influencers you need to woo as well? These and other questions might seem mysterious to someone new to the healthcare industry, but they won’t be mysterious to an industry insider. An insider will also know typical pricing, distribution channel discounts, packaging, insurance and regulatory requirements, and a host of other important information. Inventors regularly make many costly mistakes by trying to go this alone when there is simply no substitute for hands-on experience.
Do what you do best and rely on others to do what they do best. While it will cost to enlist outside help, adding this expertise may well be the difference between success and failure.
Mistake 4: Spending too Much Time and Money Perfecting Your Design
Features add cost to your product, but features that are unrelated to basic operation will generally not enhance the price a buyer is willing to pay. Too many inventors keep trying to perfect their product before gaining market feedback. There is often a fear of hearing what others think, but an early prototype is often good enough to gain valuable insight. So save your money and focus your energies on developing an initial version of your product that has the minimal number of features necessary to function. Once that is a rock-solid product, add the next most valuable feature and re-test, re-price and review with your customers.
Keep in mind that the healthcare customer and the healthcare consumer are often two different people. Consumers are patients and they virtually never buy (or even select) the products that are used on them within a healthcare setting. Therefore, while you may get fabulous feedback on your product from dozens of patients who would ultimately be the end-user of your invention, if your product does not meet the needs of the customer it may never come to fruition. For example, a hospital purchasing agent must consider a variety of factors beyond patient feedback: price point relative to alternative solutions; speed of delivery, size and disposal requirements; FDA approval/clearance; manufacturing capabilities and capacity; and physician acceptance.
Also, keep in mind that every person you ask—and even some you don’t—will share their feedback and opinions about your product with you. It’s easy to get caught up in the feedback and rush to tweak things immediately, but remember that the opinions you receive are based on the evaluator’s own personal perspective and market knowledge, which may or may not be relevant or accurate. It’s your job to apply these opinions and feedback to your invention without losing sight of your vision.
Mistake 5: Inadequate Distribution Plan
Inventors work very hard getting patents and prototypes and perfecting their product. But often they wait until the product is ready before giving any thought to selling the product. That is way too late. Distribution is often the hardest part of bringing a healthcare product to life. Purchasing agents might juggle thousands of product options at a time and they don’t always understand the nuances of why a new product’s benefits are unique and important as compared to existing solutions. Rarely can an individual (or a small company with only a single product) match the influence of a major healthcare manufacturer or distributor. Rarely will a hospital or medical office purchase a product for which they cannot receive adequate reimbursement from insurance.
If you have the fortitude, time, money and experience to navigate the maze of healthcare purchasing and insurance reimbursement, then certainly give it a go on your own. However, most inventors have no clue where to even begin. In this case, an alternative option is to try licensing your product to an established manufacturer or distributor who already has established relationships within healthcare. But before you send your idea off to a handful of companies for consideration, keep in mind that few large companies will sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), so proceed with caution. You will also want to carefully research the ins-and-outs of how each company accepts and responds to idea submissions since following their policies and procedures will be important for ensuring that your idea gets the full attention it deserves. If you are successful in finding a company interested in licensing your idea, it’s a good idea to hire a legal representative who has expertise in medical licensing to represent your interests during the negotiation phase so that you retain a meaningful stake in the financial outcome.
If the thought of identifying a licensing partner (much less negotiating a fair licensing agreement) is too daunting, the other option an inventor has is to partner with a product innovation and development company that has a proven track record in this area. Any established and reputable company specializing in product innovation and development should be able to provide you with numerous examples of innovation successes that the company personally helped bring to life. A quality company will also be able to share examples of existing relationships they have with manufacturing partners who focus on products similar to yours.
To read about the remaining mistakes and strategies to avoid them, access our “Top Medical Invention Mistakes Inventors Make” eBook now.
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ABOUT EDISON NATION MEDICAL
Edison Nation Medical is a medical device incubator and health care innovation portal with deep product development and medical expertise. A collaboration between Carolinas HealthCare System, one of the nation’s leading health care systems, and Edison Nation, prolific product developer and online social community for inventors, Edison Nation Medical’s mission is to create more effective, efficient and safer health care through innovation by breaking down traditional barriers and providing an easy way for new medical product inventions to come to life.
Edison Nation Medical is based in Charlotte, N.C. For more information on the company, please visit www.EdisonNationMedical.com.
