Lake Region Medical’s Shift from a Manufacturer to a Research and Development Partner for Leading MedTech Companies Underscored by All-Time High Investment in 2011 R&D
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Lake Region Medical (LRM), celebrating its 50th year in the cardiac rhythm management market, will spend an all-time high investment—nearly 10% of its annual sales— in research and development. To demonstrate this increased commitment to research and development partnerships with MedTech companies, LRM made its first appearance at the annual Heart Rhythm Society meeting, Heart Rhythm 2011 in May 2011 in San Francisco.
The R&D capital increase will directly support the development of customer non-core technologies with special attention towards developing interventional accessories for delivery of minimally invasive therapies. LRM’s knowledge of the clinical and regulatory requirements globally, combined with its experience working with the sophisticated quality and regulatory systems within its customer’s organizations for the past 50 years, facilitate its ability to innovate with its industry partners.
Due to impending and unknowable tax impacts from the new U.S. Healthcare bill, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) have begun to more closely scrutinize non-core research and design budgets. According to Jim Mellor, Lake Region Vice President of Sales and Marketing, the current R&D constraints on MedTech companies and declining investment in start-ups have shifted LRM’s primary model from being a major manufacturer to being an Original Development Manufacturer for its existing customers.
“After five decades, LRM increasingly finds itself in the business of delivering health outcomes,” Mellor says. “OEMs must prove that their products work in a highly regulated environment. With the added investment, combined with our industry experience, not only are we positioned to enable our customers to stay innovative by providing critical R&D support, but through our longevity and support of a large number of OEMs and devices we have become adept at navigating the complicated regulatory environment.”
Joe Fleischhacker, the CEO of Lake Region Medical, acknowledged that the company’s inaugural attendance at this year’s Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) event, Heart Rhythm 2011, allows the company to maintain and expand its pulse on the industry. “To utilize our expanded research and design capabilities to their fullest extent, we need to maintain a clear understanding of future developments within our customers, as well as emerging clinical procedures in the field.”
“Our formal participation recently at this world-renowned gathering of electrophysiologists, physicians, and scientists reflects LRM’s renewed commitment to the cardiac rhythm management market,” Fleischhacker notes. “We enjoyed discussing the new advances being made in the research and delivery of arrhythmia care, sharing the expertise we’ve acquired over the past 50 years, and how our increased investment can benefit our partners.”
Mark Christensen, Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) Marketing Manager at LRM, added that the increased R&D investment furthers LRM’s strategic focus on developing advanced delivery platforms, new coatings, and more efficient processes in order to provide finished products and components that provide competitive advantages.
“Our participation at Heart Rhythm 2011, backed by our expanded R&D initiatives, places LRM at the forefront of emerging medical therapies,” states Christensen. “We are committed to advancing technologies central to the delivery systems that enable access to and precise therapy placement in the heart to facilitate cardiac rhythm management therapies.”
CONTACT:
For Lake Region Medical
The McKay Cos.
Martin Keller, 612-729-8585
[email protected]
or
John Mckay, 612-636-3535
[email protected]
KEYWORDS: United States North America Minnesota
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Surgery Health Biotechnology Cardiology Hospitals Medical Devices Radiology Research Medical Supplies Science
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