Canaan Aumea, Founder of PocketLab, presenting to a large audience at HealthTech Week 2024

Define your Market

The commercialisation pathway for medical technologies is complex. It is first important to discuss your idea with your local tech-transfer office, especially before publicly disclosing your valuable IP. For our local universities, these include Auckland UniServices, AUT Ventures, Wellington UniVentures, Otago Innovation, Massey Ventures, and University of Canterbury's Research Commercialisation and Intellectual Property team. For Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, this is the NZ Health Innovation Hub.

Ensure market considerations include an appropriate business or access model perspectives for the target demographic, whether Pacific, Māori, disabled, women, older people - whichever is the likely customer group. Any user group will have preferences and constraints that must be accommodated in the market definition such that the value to that group is clear in both what the product innovation does, how it’s used, made, and accessed.

You can also consider the pathway to market through the creation of a start-up company, or licensing your IP, or both!

Workshops

A group of attendees engaged in a table discussion

Health Economics

This one-day workshop is an introduction to the drivers and processes used to determine economic value and ultimately a health systems’ willingness-to-pay for a healthcare product.

See the events page for the next workshop.

Resources

Bridging Business and Science

A unique programme where post-graduate students collaborate with research groups to assess their innovative ideas in the market. Over a 6-week period, interns will work closely with you to conduct comprehensive competitive landscape and market assessments, ensuring your idea is well-positioned for success. This is at no cost to the research group. If you are interested, please contact us to register your interest.

Mātauranga Māori

To effectively partner and engage with Māori communities, first attend the Whaia te Tika workshop series, followed by the Kaupapa Māori research ideation one-on-one office hours assistance to refine your approach.

Pacific Engagement

To effectively partner and engage with Pacific communities, attend the Vaka Moana workshop and speak to the Pacific Engagement module leads about your project.