Medical Valuation Laboratory Clients
The ultimate goal of innovation is commercialization. Often when inventors innovate without fully exploring the need for their invention or haven’t developed a commercial target, the technology can end up on the cutting-room floor. The Valuation Lab can apply the “business” to those ideas and help you understand both the potential for success and the challenges that need to be addressed, ensuring that every inventor has the opportunity to see their innovation thrive.
Client benefits:
- Innovations with a full analysis can often reach the market more quickly. Our research will help you reach the market more quickly and have positive impacts on patient care. The Lab will not only help you identify the roadblocks but provide suggestions on how to avoid them, providing a pathway to a marketable product.
- Clients will receive a live presentation from the students followed by a comprehensive pitch-deck, a white paper with supporting research, and financial models.
Valuation Process
The valuation components cover a range of essential aspects, including technology assessment, intellectual property analysis, market and competitive analysis, regulatory evaluation, user evaluation, financial and reimbursement considerations, and an overall recommendation.
The valuation process consists of the following steps:
- The Valuation Lab conducts up to 30 analyses per academic year. Each project takes approximately five weeks from assignment to final presentations.
- Projects are assigned based on the academic calendar with three projects assigned each semester. Semesters begin in early September and mid-January.
- The project fee is $2450.
- The Medical Valuation Lab operates under the umbrella of the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. Our core objective is to foster hands-on learning experiences for students while simultaneously creating value for our community. The insights and deliverables (including presentations, recommendations, and whitepapers) furnished by the Lab are inherently valued at $15,000 per project. Recognizing the nascent nature of many of the companies and inventors engaging with us, we are extending our services at a reduced rate of $2,450. This gesture reflects our commitment to supporting early-stage startups. It is important to note that our operational sustainability hinges on these project fees, which enables us to perpetuate our meaningful contributions to the community.
- These fees cover program costs and ensure students have the access to the resources they need to complete professional-grade work. Students earn course credit and are not paid for their work.
- Clients will be billed for fees when the project is assigned.
- The types of projects seen are varied and diverse, from cardiac to orthopedics and gastrointestinal to oncology, from device to biologic and beyond.
- The Lab has helped organizations and individual inventors from diverse backgrounds throughout Minnesota, across the nation, and around the globe. Students have seen projects from:
- Hospitals and clinics
- Medical device manufacturers
- Fortune 500 companies
- Healthcare startups
- Nonprofit organizations
- The Valuation Lab takes the confidentiality of these projects very seriously. Both students and clients sign non-disclosure agreements created by the University of Minnesota Office of General Counsel.
- Student consultants routinely work with confidential information and are trained in the proper handling of sensitive materials (e.g., secure office space, cloud-based file storage, etc. ).
- The client agreement has been approved by Valuation Lab leadership, the University of Minnesota’s Office of Sponsored Projects, and will be signed by approved designee of the Regents of the University of Minnesota. Once signatures are obtained, a fully-executed copy is returned to the client.
- Valuation Lab instructors assign students to projects that align with their career goals, expertise, and interests. Teams typically include 4-6 students, and can be made up of MBAs as well as students from programs across the University of Minnesota.
- The class meets once per week as well as group meetings organized outside of class time. Each team receives guidance and instruction from course instructors and industry experts.
The level of client involvement required will vary depending on the nature of the project and the information available. Once the project is assigned, students will contact the client for an initial meeting. Any following meetings will be at the discretion of the team and the client. The client is expected to attend (in person or virtually) the final presentation and will be notified of the date when the project is assigned.
- All projects will provide the client with an unbiased market assessment. Student reports take the viewpoint of potential investors and can be used when making business pitches for investments.
- Valuation components included are:
- Executive Summary
- The Problem
- The Solution
- Addressable Market
- Voice of the Customer
- Intellectual property
- Competitive Landscape
- Reimbursement
- Regulatory analysis
- Finance
- SWOT
- Final recommendation to both investor and inventor
Both the intake form and non-disclosure must be completed and submitted before projects will be considered for the Lab. The non-disclosure form is a standard form and has been used by over 400 prior inventors. After submission of these forms, you will be put in the queue and connected with the student team once the project begins.