Healthcare tech startups and the Twin Cities

On behalf of Kaufhold & Dix Patent Law posted in Patent Law on Wednesday, April 12, 2017.

It appears that Minnesota, especially the Twin Cities, is seeing a fair amount of startup activity in the healthcare tech field these days.

Data points to Minnesota healthcare tech startups having drawn in a fair amount of funding in the past couple of years. It is estimated that, in both 2015 and 2016, the annual total of funds raised by such startups was well over $400 million. This is well above the totals Minnesota’s neighbors have seen. A good bulk of the startup funding is coming into companies in the Twin Cities area.

Among the types of healthcare tech startups that have been seeing a particularly big portion of the startup funding here in Minnesota lately are medical device companies and digital health companies.

What is drawing healthcare tech startups to Minnesota? Potential contributors include the strength of the state’s medical industry, the talent pool in the area and the industry expertise in the area.

It will be interesting to watch what the future holds for the healthcare tech industry in Minnesota.

Another thing that points to Minnesota becoming a place of significant healthcare tech startup activity is the amount of healthcare tech patents held in the state. Current estimates point to Minnesota having 55.72 health tech patent applications/grants per 100,000 people. This is the top rate in the nation.

This stat also underscores how important of a role patents can play for healthcare tech startups. Patent matters, such as matters regarding patent applications, can have big impacts on such a company’s ability to protect and effectively market its innovations.

Now, when it comes to patent applications, whether or not the application is granted is not the only thing that can have big ramifications. What specifically is in a given patent application can impact how much in protection a requested patent would provide if granted. So, the specific details of its application can matter greatly when a company, such as a healthcare tech startup, is pursuing a patent for one of its innovations.

So, when going through the patent application process, a healthcare tech startup (or any other type of company), may want a skilled intellectual property lawyer’s help with the specifics of their application.

Source: Modern Healthcare, “The hot healthcare tech scene bubbling up north in the Twin Cities,” Rachel Z. Arndt, April 1, 2017