At LSI USA ’26, the panel “Medtech M&A: An Optimist’s Perspective on the Future of Medtech” brought together leaders from EY-Parthenon, Medtronic, Evercore, Vensana Capital, and Edwards Lifesciences to discuss the state of dealmaking, capital deployment, and strategic growth across the industry. The conversation made one point clear: medtech M&A 2026 is not simply about whether deal activity returns. It is about how capital gets deployed, which assets attract strategic attention, and what companies need to prove before they can become must-have acquisition targets. Moderated by John Heinbigner, Partner at EY-Parthenon, the panel featured Chris Eso, VP, Global Head of Corporate and Business Development, M&A and Ventures at Medtronic; Bennett Blau, Senior Managing Director at Evercore; Greg Banker, Partner at Vensana Capital; and Chad Rice, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Edwards Lifesciences.
The panel opened with a look at a market that appears healthy in some ways and challenged in others. Heinbigner noted that the overall medtech market grew about 6% in 2025. Underlying fundamentals, including utilization volumes and capital spending, remain strong. But public market sentiment has not fully reflected that strength. Heinbigner pointed to a disconnect between industry fundamentals and equity market performance, noting that medtech has been trading at a discount despite historically trading at a premium. Blau described the current environment as “a very schizophrenic market environment,” pointing to a broader market where the S&P 500 has held up better than many would have expected given macro and geopolitical turmoil, while medtech has remained challenged.
At LSI USA ’26, the panel “If You Don’t Create Your Brand, Your Market (or Competitors) Will” explored a critical but often underprioritized part of company building: medtech branding. For early-stage innovators, brand is not simply a logo, color palette, or polished pitch deck. It is the foundation for how a company defines its purpose, positions its technology, earns credibility, and creates consistency with customers, investors, employees, and strategic partners. Moderated by Rachel Knutton, CEO of Alluvia Studio, the discussion featured Amanda DePalma, SVP of Ultrasound Global Marketing at Siemens Healthineers, and Terri Burke, Senior Partner at Intuitive Ventures. Together, they made a clear case for why brand development should begin long before a company is ready for commercial launch.
Knutton described Alluvia Studio’s brand process as “define, refine, shine,” with the most important work happening at the beginning. The define phase is where a company does the harder, less visible work of understanding who it is, who it serves, what it stands for, and why the market should care. Burke said that for startups, this early definition is especially important because it directly affects how investors understand the company. “For any startup, I think the define phase is the most important thing that you can do and spend time on because it’s who you are and what value you’re bringing and why an investor should care,” Burke said.
Join industry leaders as they discuss the transformative role of deep technology in creating a more human-centered healthcare system, highlighting innovative strategies and insights for the future.
Gain insights from industry leaders as they discuss innovative strategies for advancing healthcare and business development, highlighting the collaboration between Mayo Clinic and W. L. Gore & Associates.
Paul LaViolette of SV Health Investors and moderator Ilya Trakhtenberg from L.E.K. Consulting discuss essential strategies and best practices innovators must adopt to successfully navigate and win in the medtech industry.
To successfully navigate these differences, panelists emphasized the need for clear communication—especially early in the partnership. “Founders often assume everyone’s aligned just because they invested,” said Mas. “But if expectations haven’t been discussed, you end up with drama in the boardroom.” When it comes to big tech and big pharma partnerships, misalignment is even more likely. “I’ve seen firsthand how tech and pharma bring very different assumptions to the table,” said Parramon. “Pharma thinks software guys can fix everything. Tech guys don’t think about evidence at all. If you haven’t aligned on the how—not just the goal—it will fall apart.”
Africa’s healthcare market is poised for exponential growth. The population is expected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, and urbanization is rising, with 50% of people already living in urban or peri-urban areas. These demographic shifts, combined with digital advancements, are creating new opportunities for medtech and healthtech in Africa.
For medtech entrepreneurs, the road from invention to acquisition is anything but straightforward. Few companies navigate it successfully, and even fewer first-time founders make it to the finish line. Avitus Orthopaedics, co-founded by Neil Shah and Maxim Budyansky, is one of those rare success stories.
Cardiovascular innovation has entered a transformative era. The convergence of devices, digital tools, and data is no longer on the horizon—it’s here, reshaping how stakeholders invest, acquire, and scale. During a panel at LSI USA ’25, leaders from GE HealthCare, Mayo Clinic Ventures, Medtronic, and the American Heart Association broke down the three major forces influencing medical technology investment strategies across cardiovascular care: convergence, collaboration, and commercialization.
The world of corporate VCs is complex and rapidly evolving, with top decision-makers from multi-billion-dollar strategics continuously evaluating how they invest and align their efforts with medtech M&As and business development. During the LSI USA ’24 panel, titled Corporate VCs: What They Want, and How They Align With M&A and Business Development, industry leaders from Medtronic, Boston Scientific, Intuitive Ventures, Dexcom Ventures, and Orchestra BioMed shared valuable insights into their investment strategies and how they align with broader corporate goals.
