Drive Your Career: Trends to Watch in 2025

Our team has specialized in building medical device and life sciences companies for three decades.  We see where the money goes, where market interest lies, and where career development follows.  As industry specialized search partners, our activity is a leading indicator of market trends.  As we wind down 2024 and gear up for 2025, following the industry trends can help you proactively drive your career for today and future opportunities. 

After pandemic investment soared in 2021 and 2022, then dipped in 2022 and 2023, we have seen trends of returns to healthy balance and scalable growth in 2024. Money will be invested in startup medical device companies that solve a clinical unmet need with a clear path for reimbursement and market access.  The solid technologies that fix “plumbing” or “electricity” in our bodies have a known clinical and regulatory path, and investors have a predictive timeline for an exit.  Digital health also has growth potential, staying close to where the economics will make sense will be the important link. 

Industry Trends to follow in 2025:

1.        Structural heart technologies:  As surgical procedures involving a transcatheter approach continue to become more widely adopted, so will corrective valve therapies.  Aortic valves have laid the foundation for innovation in mitral, pulmonary and tricuspid valve treatment.  We are seeing an increase in opportunities for valves and cardiovascular prosthetics with improved materials, biocompatibility, and hemodynamics.  This is great for the aging population, as well as the youth born with congenital heart defects that require corrective procedures over a lifetime. 

2.        Innovation in electrophysiology:  Better ablation technologies for arrhythmias will continue to be in focus, with the buzzed about pulse field ablation finding its solid place in the market. Legacy radiofrequency and cryoablation, in addition to PFA, allow clinicians to have better options to address diverse causes of the growing arrhythmia market. The growth of the cardiac remote monitoring space has created better diagnostic capabilities and for faster intervention.

3.        Neuromodulation:  From implantable neurostimulators, “bioelectric medicine”, improved materials, external wearables with therapeutic properties and beyond, the future with neurostimulation is just scratching the surface of expanding opportunities.  These technologies are offering options to patients who have tried drug regimens without success and have no good solutions.  It is encouraging to see some of these devices addressing difficult diseases without systemic impact of some drugs.

4.        Remote Patient Management:  On a traditional adoption curve, clinical grade “wearables” are still in early adopters stage.  Cardiovascular monitoring devices are making a strong impact getting patients out of the hospital and keeping communication open between clinician and patient.  The shortage of clinicians plus burden on hospitals make the economic story palatable. 

5.        Surgical Robotics:  Automating common procedures with the help of robotics will expand in endovascular applications (think robotic TAVR) as well as stroke intervention and ophthalmology.  As centers of care change from the hospital to ambulatory surgical centers, cost and form factor need to be central to commercialization strategy. 

6.        AI and Data for Diagnosis and Care Pathways: Already adopted widely throughout oncology, intelligence will continue to give us better insight into cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other major disease categories.  The critical component for companies to be successful will be the economic story and ensuring patient outcomes are better, as well as costs associated with the course of treatment.

7.        Preventative health and direct to consumer models.  We are already seeing increased partnership between Pharma, Biotech and MedTech companies as drug therapies are tested in clinical stage with innovative diagnostic tools.  This prevalence, plus the majority adoption of products like continuous glucose monitors for better lifestyle management for diabetes, create a harmonious wave of market interest for better holistic health management tools.  The direct-to-consumer model will be important for awareness for options, as well as increase in exposure to devices used in clinical trials with drug partners.

8.         3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing:  3D printed devices can reduce manufacturing costs and lead times with improved fit and functionality for prosthetics.  We are also seeing personalized implants offering better biocompatibility and less rejection.  Going on to personalize implants with smart sensors for greater monitoring and management is also an interesting tailwind.

9.        Focused Impact across the Value Chain.  Medical device companies historically delivered value through the products manufactured and sold.  As healthcare system pressures mount, the Value Chain is in question.  Services and data now being integrated with products to allow end to end solutions for the customer, which now includes the patient, clinician, and payers.  These holistic suites of products and services will drive additional M&A activity.   

10.  Innovation and distribution working closely together.  Historically, the startups drive innovation, and large strategics own the distribution.  From more active “Build to Buy” partnerships between strategics and startups, to conferences representing innovation and multinational activity more congruently, there is more visibility into the innovative side of MedTech than ever before.  This awareness is creating more engagement between investors and startups as early as Pre Seed stage and setting the table for more efficient partnerships.  There are also more assets at the FDA than ever before that support innovative companies on their clinical and regulatory path.

2024 has been a year of cautious optimism and modest growth. The momentum is building as we continue in the final quarter. As we look ahead to 2025, there are positive signs of continued investment and expansion, domestically and globally. When managing career, follow trends to know where opportunities lie, as when money is invested, people are needed, and market expansion creates future demand.  Trends of today set you up for career opportunities of tomorrow.