AUGUSTA, Ga. —
The Georgia Institute of Technology and Augusta University have launched a collaborative effort to boost the city’s medical device innovation ecosystem. Leaders are going to talk about it today at the Innovate Conference at Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center.
The advocacy nonprofit Georgia Life Sciences designated the region a BioReady Gold community. Augusta is known as a desired choice for biotech companies looking for suitable sites to expand.
Leading the work at Georgia Tech are the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP) and the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC).
GaMEP is a program of the Enterprise Innovation Institute, Tech’s chief economic development arm. It brings a dedicated team with the unique skills required to help innovators clearly understand the requirements needed to bring medical devices to market.
Since its founding in 1980, ATDC’s startup graduates have attracted more than $6.2 billion in investment and generated over $14 billion in revenue in Georgia. Through the partnership with Augusta University, ATDC uses its expertise to serve entrepreneurs in the medical device field.
“Medical innovation across the state of Georgia is critical for our health tech industries to thrive,” said Chris Dickson, ATDC’s startup catalyst in the Augusta region. “We identify investment-ready medical technology startups and provide the support needed while they are scaling their businesses.”
A major hub for the life sciences, Augusta University is home to a wealth of researchers in the biomedical and related fields. This makes the institution ideally situated to help facilitate medical device commercialization.
Guido Verbeck understands this dynamic firsthand. A professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Augusta University, he is also an entrepreneur and medical device innovator.
“Academia is a fantastic platform for launching ideas, but there must be an understanding of how to bring a device to market,” said Verbeck. “Physicians and practitioners who are also academics are solving problems in real time, but they often lack the resources and support to get their ideas to production and commercialization.”
Lynsey Steinberg, director of innovation for Augusta University’s strategic partnerships and economic development team, summed up the collaboration’s goal.
“When we tap our depth of talent, innovation, and community collaboration, this region has what it takes to become a launchpad for medical device startups — a place where bold ideas find the purpose they need to succeed to solve real-world problems,” she said.
