Medical Technology: The Innovation Imperative for Growth Stage Companies

(Moderator) Brandon Bogdalek, Vice President, Demand Generation, Veranex

Brandon Bogdalek is Vice President of Demand Generation at Veranex, a healthcare product innovation and commercialization partner developing solutions through human-centered design and deep engineering capability. Brandon has worked with dozens of medical device, drug delivery, diagnostics, and digital health companies on outsourced innovation and commercialization projects. In his current position, he represents the product development and engineering (PDE) function from a marketing lens – helping tell stories from internal and external subject matter experts that provide value and promote new thinking. Before Veranex, Brandon helped lead business development for several companies including Worrell Design who was purchased by Veranex in 2021. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Minnesota and is an active participant in several life sciences communities.

Michael Hill, Global Head, Science & Technology and Innovation at Science Innovations L.L.C.; Adjunct Associate Professor, Case Western Reserve University School of Engineering and Weatherhead School of Management

Dr. Hill is a global-minded, skilled entrepreneur and authentic leader, inspiring and enabling the creation of patient-centered, medical device innovations from discovery to scale. With almost thirty years of experience at Medtronic, plc in research and technology, product development, clinical research and regulatory, global and leadership roles, he continues his passion to share knowledge, improve decision-making and accelerate the cycle of innovation. Dr. Hill has BSEs [BME/EE], BS [Math] from Duke; MS and PhD [BME] from CWRU; and MBA from Univ. of St. Thomas.  He is an American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering Fellow, Distinguished Engineering Duke Alumni, Medtronic Bakken Fellow, and recipient of the Biomedical Engineering Society and Wallace H Coulter lifetime achievement award in Healthcare Innovation.

Nancy Schoenbrunner, Chief Executive Officer, AmplifiDx

Nancy Schoenbrunner, CEO of AmplifiDx, has a proven track record as an executive in the medical device and diagnostic field (Roche Diagnostics for 20 years; Scipher Medicine for 2 years). Nancy is adept at planning and directing the organization’s technology commercialization and innovation strategy, R&D and IP portfolio. She has experience in creating value by managing cross-functional global teams, managing external development partners, forming strategic alliances, and driving product innovation. She has a Ph.D. in Biophysics and is inventor on 29 issued and pending patent families. She has executed multiple successful commercialization projects from concept to market resulting in multiple first in class diagnostic product approvals including:

• the cobas® EGFR cancer test (liquid biopsy), highlighted for innovation in the Roche annual reports in 2015 and 2016
• the cobas® 6800/8800 system, a top selling platform for Roche’s lab testing business (642M CHF revenue in 2017)
• the cobas® Liat® point of care system, a major contributor to revenue growth for Roche in 2018 (>1500 system placements, 262% annual revenue growth).
• Managing a team of data scientists to develop a predictive algorithm for treatment response in complex diseases, resulting in a clinically validated diagnostic product (PrismRA®) and numerous publications

Tom Burke, Partner and Founder, Vail Scientific

Tom Burke has 35+ years of experience as a forward-thinking, strategic leader with diverse management experience, including CEO and COO of global organization across multiple disciplines, including corporate leadership, operations (manufacturing/supply chain), business development (M&A, licensing), portfolio management, project management, P&L, sales and marketing. He has served as a Board Member and Chair to several biotech, pharma and diagnostic companies. Tom has a BS in Economics and an MBA in Marketing.