The 2014 data shows that the patent submissions of Israeli companies in the field of biomed increases significantly, at the expense of the high-tech field, when it is a trend exclusive to the Israeli market as opposed to the global market
An examination of the number of patent submissions carried out by Israeli companies in the field of medical devices, conducted by the patent office of Dr. Eyal Bressler using the PetBase patent database of the British company Minesoft, represented in Israel by the Information Services Search, reveals that until the mid-70s there was A large increase in patent submissions in the high-tech field, when afterwards, towards the end of the 2010s, the trend moderated. On the other hand, in the field of medical devices there was a very moderate increase in patent submissions until the end of the 2014s, when at the end there was a big jump in submissions in the field - a 2015% increase from 12 to 14. The examination was conducted through the patent office of Dr. Eyal Bresler, in preparation for "IATI- Biomed 2015", the international conference and accompanying exhibition, which will be held this year in Tel Aviv, between May XNUMX and XNUMX, XNUMX.
"The field of medical devices touches high-tech and overlaps with it, both in competition for investments and technological manpower" say the authors of the review. "This field includes any technological product or process intended for medical or veterinary purposes and it should be noted that despite the similarities between high-tech entrepreneurship and medical device entrepreneurship, the latter has additional difficulties (which do not exist in high-tech entrepreneurship) which include strict regulatory mechanisms in each country and reimbursement challenging".
Examining a number of patent applications that were submitted in the US or Europe and continued to the international PCT stage, it can be seen that there has been a steady increase in both the high-tech and medical device fields over the years, with a certain moderation in both towards the end of the XNUMXs. "Contrary to the Israeli trend, looking abroad, we are not witnessing the big jump in patent submissions from the field of medical devices, a trend that is exclusive to the Israeli market," says Bresler.
"The Israeli biomed industry is close to the high-tech industry, in terms of the skills required in hardware and software development, as well as in terms of the resources it consumes," says Dr. Noa Ofer. "In the high-tech industry, the barriers to entry are low and the payoff is quick, while in the field of medical devices the process is longer and requires both extensive research and development processes as well as the success of the various regulatory mechanisms. The bursting of the high-tech bubble, together with low entry barriers that encourage the entry of markets from other countries in the field, led the Israeli entrepreneur to discover that the real and truly rewarding challenge lies in the biomed industry."
According to the analysis of Dr. Lior Itzhaki, a senior partner at the Bresler patent office, the great high-tech crisis at the end of the 90s, together with the great global recession at the end of the XNUMXs, led many Israeli entrepreneurs and investors to move away from the world of high-tech and become pioneers in the new world of medical devices. "Medical devices, in addition to being attractive thanks to the challenge in it, is a field that also brings with it a sense of mission, and together with government encouragement, entrepreneurs and investors have begun to pave a new path."
In terms of the distribution of investments in the fields of high-tech and medical equipment, says Dr. Eyal Bresler, it can be seen that investments in the field of medical equipment grew from 2008 to 2010 "at the expense" of the other fields. "Although it is evident that the high-tech sector recovered slightly at the expense of medical devices in 2011, it is actually an overall increase in the amount of investments and there is still an increase in investments in the field of medical devices compared to 2010 ($385 million in 2011, compared to $353 million in 2010)."
"IATI-Biomed 2015", the international conference and accompanying exhibition, will be held between May 12 and 14, 2015.
Every year, the biggest names in the world from the fields of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medical devices take part in the conference, and multinational companies present their innovations alongside promising young companies at the exhibition. The organizers of the event, the Israel Association for Advanced Industries - IATI - and the "Exhibition Conference" company, estimate that among the thousands of expected participants - CEOs and other executives from international companies, scientists and researchers, entrepreneurs, shapers of public opinion in the field, managers of venture capital funds and private investors - will also be Over 1,000 guests from abroad.
