The Business of Eye Innovation Podcast: Episode 13

Europe’s First MedTech Innovation Campus: Nextmed

Strasbourg is one of Europe’s key centers for medtech growth and innovation, and the NextMed campus is one of the city’s primary incubators, bringing together medtech start-ups, surgeons, researchers, and students to develop cutting edge technologies and innovations.

On this episode of the BOEI Podcast, Kris Morrill talks with NextMed Director Nicolas Pellerin about the significance of the NextMed campus, how it came to be, the critical role it plays in fueling innovation, and his vision for future expansion.   

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube

Speakers:

• Kristine Morrill, Founder and President of Medevise Consulting

• Nicolas Pellerin, Director of Nextmed

Key Takeaways:

• Strasbourg Metropole started the Nextmed project 10 years ago to create a medtech environment for innovative medical device companies in the region and beyond. Nextmed is located on the Hôpital Civil campus. It is the host and foundation for many innovative medical device startups.

• Fostering Innovation: To develop a new device, you need surgeons, students, patients, entrepreneurs, and clinical researchers. It’s necessary to connect all of these people and roles. But in addition to proximity, but you need processes and structure to catalyse new ideas and technologies.

• The Evolution of the Nextmed Campus

  • A decade ago, the first building project began as PH8, an incubator for innovative companies. It’s success led the mayor of Strasbourg to expand Nextmed by purchasing and developing additional space on the hospital campus.

  • In 2022, the Xplora building opened as a redevelopment of the existing 100-year-old ear, nose and throat hospital building. The new offices located here benefit from impressive views of the Strasbourg Cathedral and the canal, which inside it is buzzing with companies working on exciting new innovations.

  • Currently under renovation, the Pagoda building be transformed from a former lecture hall into a restaurant/bar and park to serve as a meeting place for all.

  • This first phase of the NextMed development will be complete in 2028, when  30,000 square meters (100,000 square feet) of thoughtfully renovated space will host approximately 2,500 people at work.

  • The campus provides an ecosystem based on worldwide scientific, medical and technological cooperation for the development of medical devices to enhance the quality of patients’ lives. It has attracted some of the world’s leading companies in the field, including General Electric Healthcare, Medtronic, Siemens, Storz and Intuitive Surgical, and has seen the emergence of over 25 startups since it was opened in 2012.

• Why Strasbourg? The city is a multicultural center with easy access to Germany and Switzerland, and hosts many international organizations including the Council of Europe, the European Parliament, and the European Court of Human Rights. It contains one of the leading international scientific universities, Strasbourg University, coupled with a business school that offers a prominent master's program in innovation. There is already a critical mass of science and medicine companies in this upper Rhine region, and the city’s midsize status allows it to maintain a welcoming, personalized environment for startups.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube. Thank you for following the Business of Eye Innovation podcast. Learn more about our guest Nicolas Pellerin and Nextmed. For more engaging topics on medical device innovation, please follow Medevise on LinkedIn.