Turner MedTech: Well-Positioned for Upcoming Growth in the Category
According to McKinsey, the medical technology and device industry is expected to return to growth in 2024 after what has been a turbulent past few years. Like most other areas of healthcare, the industry took a downtrend in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic, followed by a sharp rebound in 2021 on pent-up demand. Rising interest rates pressured margins in 2023, and certain segments, such as obesity-related devices, saw competitive headwinds from new pharmaceuticals, such as Ozempic® and Mounjaro®. Nevertheless, growth in the coming years is expected to be driven by increasing patient volumes, with strong underlying demographic shifts and an aging population, along with the availability of innovative technologies that address high unmet needs across such disease areas as neurovascular, diabetes, heart failure, and stroke. Licensing and M&A activity are also expected to remain strong in 2024, driven by advancements in AI and machine learning technology. In Orem, Utah, a proven contract manufacturing company is beefing up its full-range of services for companies looking to take advantage of what could be a MedTech mini-boom.
Specifically, for Turner MedTech, the opportunity for its companies focuses on growth fueled by patients accessing new and nontraditional sites of care, including ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), medical offices, outpatient settings, at-home diagnostics--and even the sidelines at NFL games. In accordance with this shift in point-of-care, the segments expected to see the strongest growth areas include advanced imaging, miniaturization, visualization, and wearables. Devices are getting smaller and more portable, and technological advancements can now be delivered to patients outside the major hospital setting. Turner is at the top of companies with experience in designing, building, and shipping for this growing segment.
The Trend: Miniaturization and Point-of-Care Access
Dr. Clark Turner, Ph.D., an accomplished serial entrepreneur, has been at the center of the high-tech miniaturization and portability trend for the past two decades. In the early 2000s, he created the battery-powered NOMAD, a handheld portable X-ray system that revolutionized dental X-rays. That product gained U.S. FDA approval in 2005. Dr. Turner later sold the company he founded to develop NOMAD to a division of Danaher in November 2012. At the time, it was the No. 2 dental X-ray machine on the market. And as of today, it’s No. 1.
Over the past several years, he founded several new companies, including Turner Imaging Systems and 3Dio, Inc. Turner Imaging Systems is a commercial-stage medical device company with a U.S. FDA-cleared portable, lightweight, cordless C-arm X-ray machine called Smart-C. The product does the same job as the big 400+ pound systems sold to hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers by GE, Hologic, and Orthoscan; only the Turner device weighs just 16 pounds and can collapse for transport and storage. Turner has a master reseller agreement in the U.S. with Siemens, whereby Siemens markets and sells the Smart C under the Turner brand. It’s ideal for the field - the battlefield and the ballfield. The company boasts the U.S. Military as a customer, and they have sold the Smart C device to roughly half of the NFL and about a third of MLB franchises.
3Dio, Inc. is looking to build upon the success of NOMAD with a new X-ray device that uses tomosynthesis to deliver a 3D image for advanced dental imaging applications. 3Dio’s Lumos 3DX is designed to capture images roughly 12 times faster than traditional 2D devices but with a much lower radiation dose than larger cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) units. Lumos 3DX also includes advanced software that allows the dentist to identify cavities or cracks within the tooth or precisely image root canals.
The process by which Dr. Turner invented NOMAD, Smart-C, and Lumos 3DX is truly fascinating. Conversations with patients, doctors, and colleagues identify an opportunity, such as portability, device size or cost, or image quality. Then, a prototype is built. “I just loved that whole process of talking to the customer, figuring out what they wanted, designing a product that met their needs, then going through the product development, the engineering, and delivering it back to the customer,” says Dr. Turner.
However, at the center of every quest to make a medical device less invasive, more accurate, and widely accessible is the challenge of manufacturing and scalability. Scalability - an often-overlooked factor, yet a significant one - has been at the core of many recent breakthroughs in medical imaging. Scalability is not just about enlarging capacity; it is about integrating innovations efficiently into existing healthcare systems, creating a seamless, cost-effective, and patient-friendly service.
The Solution: Turner Medtech
No one understands the challenges of high-tech manufacturing better than Dr. Turner and the team at Turner Medtech. “Based on some of my experiences over the years, I realized that there is a strong need for a manufacturing partner to produce prototypes and finished products with a focus on customer service and quality.”
Turner MedTech is a contract manufacturing company set up to service related and independent companies in the medical device industry. The 20,000-square-foot facility is ISO 13485 certified, which meets the highest global compliance and process control standards. Turner Medtech is contracted to manufacture Turner Imaging Systems’ Smart C and 3Dio’s Lumos 3DX devices. WaterJet International, developer of a revolutionary new water dental drill technology, turned to Turner MedTech when the company ran into delays and mishaps with its Chinese manufacturing partner.
“In a nutshell, Turner MedTech bailed my company out,” said Tim Nelson, a fellow entrepreneur and founder of WaterJet. “I was extremely impressed with the knowledge base, the equipment, and the know-how the Turner MedTech team has displayed. I immediately released the order from the China group to Turner MedTech, and I couldn’t be more relieved that I did.”
Like many emerging medical device companies, WaterJet had an idea, a product patent, and even a team of onsite engineers. However, the machining and manufacturing of finished commercial devices are tasks that a highly specialized organization like Turner Medtech, led by an experienced team with a proven track record, can help a company manage risk, reduce costs, and improve service delivery.
Charles Jensen is VP and General Manager of Turner Medtech. He has extensive experience in high-tech device manufacturing, such as X-ray components and medical imaging devices, machining and tool design, and aerospace. The entire team at Turner Medtech prides itself on its ability to support partner companies in the successful evolution of products from concept design, to prototyping, to process development, and finally all the way to commercial-scale manufacturing.
“It’s extremely gratifying to be able to improve the lives of patients through your innovations. We’re positively impacting medicine, and we expect that impact to grow over the years as we continue to add new products and capabilities. It’s a great time to be involved in medical device innovation, and with our expertise in manufacturing, we are positioning Turner Medtech as the partner of choice for fellow entrepreneurs.”
