A Multi-Institutional Partnership Catalyzing the Commercialization of Medical Devices and Biotechnology Products

The commercialization of medical devices and biotechnology products is characterized
by high failure rates and long development lead times particularly among start-up
enterprises. To increase the success rate of these high-risk ventures, the University of
Massachusetts Lowell (UML) and University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS)
partnered to create key academic support centers with programs to accelerate
entrepreneurship and innovation in this industry. In 2008, UML and UMMS founded the
Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2), which is a business and
technology incubator that provides business planning, product prototyping, laboratory
services, access to clinical testing, and ecosystem networking to medical device and
biotech startup firms. M2D2 has three physical locations that encompass approximately
40,000 square feet. Recently, M2D2 leveraged these resources to expand into new
areas such as health security, point of care technologies for heart, lung, blood, and
sleep disorders, and rapid diagnostics to detect SARS-CoV-2. Since its inception, M2D2
has vetted approximately 260 medical device and biotech start-up companies for
inclusion in its programs and provided active support to more than 80 firms. This
manuscript describes how two UMass campuses leveraged institutional, state, and
Federal resources to create a thriving entrepreneurial environment for medical device
and biotech companies.