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Medical Device Innovation Carries Promise for State

As Oklahoma is searching for the next 'big thing' in bioscience, local decision-makers should consider the advantages of establishing Oklahoma City as a national leader in medical device development and commercialization. The state already has a rich history in prosthetics and medical rehabilitation. This could serve as the foundation of a new prosthetic medical device industry that supports high-tech jobs with good wages and the potential to improve patients' lives.

For the past 25 years, Oklahoma City has been synonymous with cutting-edge rehabilitation for persons with limb loss. The Sabolich family's pioneering work established Oklahoma City as the destination of choice for patients from around the world seeking state-of-the-art prosthetic care. Planting the prosthetic device commercialization flag firmly in Oklahoma City could bring a strong economic growth engine to the state.

Although the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have focused the public's attention on limb loss as a signature injury, complications of diabetes and obesity are still the leading causes of amputation. Today, more than 20 million Americans have diabetes, so the demand for new and improved prosthetic technology will continue to expand.

Prosthetics development also could create more jobs, more quickly, than investments in other fields of medical research. External prostheses are exempt from many of the regulatory requirements established for drugs and internal devices. According to PhRMA, the pharmaceutical industry's trade association, only one of every 10,000 potential new drugs researched by American drug companies will receive FDA approval for patient use. On average, this development process takes 15 years and costs $800 million. By comparison, prosthetic innovations can be introduced commercially with a year or less of safety and patient testing.

With a modest investment, Oklahoma could become the national hub for prosthetic device development and commercialization. Domestic competition is limited, as most new developments in prosthetics come out of Europe. Today, foreign companies lead prosthetics innovation, and U.S. manufacturers typically produce generic versions of their products. Orthocare Innovations wants to change that, and we think Oklahoma is the perfect home for our ambitious effort.

Oklahoma City has created a supportive environment for entrepreneurs who want to grow their operations. We believe a concerted, public-private effort could establish Oklahoma as a global leader in the development and manufacturing of prosthetic devices. As Oklahoma builds out its strategy for economic development, this could be an important element of a multipronged approach. We are proud to be exploring this potential with the Presbyterian Health Foundation, the OU Health Sciences Center, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce and other community institutions to make this vision a reality.

Click here to read the article in the Sunday Oklahoman Newspaper.

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