Real World Evidence for MedTech Startups: Insights from Ian Weimer
For early-stage medtech companies, proving value often comes long before a product is built. In this conversation, Ian Weimer shares how real world evidence is shifting from a niche capability to essential infrastructure, and what that means for founders building in a changing regulatory and funding environment.
Building Awareness Against the Silent Pandemic of Antimicrobial Resistance
The USD Discovery District recently hosted an insightful podcast conversation exploring one of the most pressing yet under-discussed global health threats: antimicrobial resistance (AMR), often described as a silent pandemic.
In this episode of the podcast, host Tung Nguyen sat down with Dr. Patrick Rynn Hogan, DHA, author of the newly published book The Silent Pandemic of Antimicrobial Resistance: Why the Next Global Health Crisis Has Already Begun.
Dr. Hogan, CEO of Prescient Healthcare, shared compelling insights into why AMR represents a system-level failure that spans healthcare, agriculture, supply chains, and innovation ecosystems. He emphasized that while AMR has been evolving for decades, its impacts are accelerating—contributing to hundreds of thousands of deaths annually through conditions like sepsis, UTIs, and persistent infections that were once easily treatable.
Sharing the Inside View: Reflections from the USD Discovery District Team
The USD Discovery District has marked a pivotal year in South Dakota’s innovation landscape, but its foundation rests on decades of strategic vision. In this episode of Favorable Environments, host Tung Nguyen joins his fellow USD Discovery District leaders — Ryan Oines (President and CEO) and Marc Niamba (Director of Biotech Development) — for a reflective conversation on the District’s first operational year since launching Building 1 in January 2025. Their discussion reveals what it takes to build a research park from the ground up, why collaboration drives sustainable growth, and how South Dakota is creating the right conditions for bioscience to thrive long-term.
Advancing Nutritional Science From the Heart of South Dakota
OmegaQuant Analytics has become one of the most trusted names in nutritional science, but its story begins here in Sioux Falls. In this episode of Favorable Environments, Dr. Kristina Harris Jackson reflects on how a simple dried blood spot test grew into a global diagnostics platform used in more than seventy countries. Her conversation with Tung Nguyen reveals what it takes to translate research into tools people can use at home, why communication matters in science, and how South Dakota continues to create the right conditions for long-term innovation.
Cooling the Future with Liquid Ventilation
Dive into Favorable Environments’ latest: Orixha CEO Fabrice Paublant unveils liquid ventilation tech poised to transform post-cardiac arrest care, cooling patients to 33°C in under 20 minutes to curb $1.5B annual U.S. organ damage costs. With MIT-honed expertise, Paublant emphasizes lean funding and collective intelligence for medtech scale-up. Explore ROI potential for job-creating biotech hubs.
Stream the episode and connect with USD Discovery District for policy-aligned partnerships fostering regional growth.
Exploring Public Biotech Stocks
Unlock biotech investment intel in Favorable Environments: Wassim Laroussi reveals trends like $32.1B Q4 2024 M&A (PitchBook, +20% YoY) signaling job-creating consolidations in oncology/obesity amid rising rates. From his IQVIA roots, he advises valuing companies as full acquisitions for policy-aligned funding decisions.
Listen and connect with USD Discovery District to leverage data for regional economic impact and compliant growth strategies.
Shaping Connected Health from Small-Town South Dakota Roots
Bill Betten joins Favorable Environments to outline medtech’s $612B market trajectory (Statista, 5.9% CAGR to 2028), from 3M innovations like pulse oximeters to startup consulting at S3 Connected Health. He details ROI strategies: cross-team regulatory navigation yielding 20-30% faster market entry, plus cybersecurity compliance for policy-aligned funding.
Listen and partner with USD Discovery District to drive job creation and economic growth via compliant medtech initiatives.
Democratizing Medical Testing & Health Data
Dr. Neel Patel on Favorable Environments: From physician frustrations with diagnostic delays to ZiO Health’s portable drug monitoring tech, targeting a $88.3B point-of-care market by 2034 (CAGR 5.9%). He outlines pre-seed to Series A funding, FDA engagement, and reimbursement planning for policy-compliant scale-up, enabling job growth in medtech hubs.
Stream the episode and collaborate with USD Discovery District on ROI-driven initiatives for regional economic vitality.
Minimizing Uncertainty
Max Ostermeier on Favorable Environments: ImplantData’s Eyemate-SC targets glaucoma’s $8.34B therapeutics sector, leveraging FDA Breakthrough Designation for expedited reimbursement and market entry, fostering job creation in digital health. He details funding pathways from pre-seed to exits, aligning with policy incentives for chronic disease management.
Breaking Through Conflict
Dr. Lisa MacFadden on Favorable Environments: Pioneering FES for neural interfaces in a $363B bioengineering sector, she outlines policy-aligned AI ethics for compliance, plus NSF/NIH grants driving 5% job growth in biomedical engineering through 2034. Her SD startup exemplifies ROI via startup ecosystems.