California is the largest life sciences state in the US, with its ecosystem boasting leading medtech companies, researchers, hospitals, investors and commercialisation consultants making it a world leader in medtech innovation. The delegation took part in a specially curated pre-conference site visit program ahead of The Medtech Conference.
Our team on the ground leading the Team Australia delegation included MTPConnect Chair The Hon. Jaala Pulford GAICD, and staff Jarrod Belcher GAICD and Erin McAllum.
Team Australia on Tour
On Day 1 our delegation visited venture group Aquilius to find out more about the US venture capital ecosystem, and then joined our partners Biocom California for a networking lunch., followed by a trip to see the labs under construction at the IQHQ Research and Development District (RaDD) in downtown San Diego’s newest life science mixed-use development by the waterfront. The day wrapped up with a tour of Illumina’s facilities to find out more about their genomics R&D innovation roadmap, genomic sequencing powered by AI, and learning about flow cell manufacturing processes.
Day 2 started at the University of California San Diego for a visit with the Device Acceleration Center, Institute for the Global Entrepreneur UC San Diego and Office of Innovation and Commercialisation! Great to see how UC San Diego supports medtech startups, driving transformational science and engineering that solves the world’s most important challenges.
We visited Australian-born Resmed who developed the first continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device in 1981 in Sydney, Australia and have taken this life-changing technology to market and created a global brand of innovative medical devices and cloud-based software solutions to better diagnose, treat, and manage sleep-disordered breathing, COPD, and other key chronic diseases. It was great to meet the team and get an update on their business plans.
Our delegation were also guests of the San Diego Entrepreneurs Exchange at a Friday night social event.
Co-Hosting Business Reception with Medical Alley
Next up we co-hosted a business and networking evening reception for the first time with our partner Medical Alley – Innovation Without Borders, which was sponsored by Victorian Government. It was all about shining a light on Australia’s medtech sector and commercial investment opportunities and making global connections, especially with our friends in Minnesota – a global center for the medtech industry- a real powerhouse.
Australia Open for Business
Then it was onto the world’s most prominent global medtech event The MedTech Conference, which attracts around 4,000 top industry leaders from 1,500 companies across 45 countries. The standout Team Australia booth helped delegates profile their products or services while providing a place for meetings and conversations – and the level of interest was solid.
The delegation included:
Check out our Trade Mission Directory to find out more about the delegate companies
Great to have valuable support from Austrade and Victorian Government.
Looking forward to doing it all again for The MedTech Conference next year in Boston!
