News

20 Sep: Meeting Opportunities October 2022

Tony Freeman will be attending MPO Summit 2022 and Device Talks West 2022, and welcomes the opportunity to meet with colleagues. Schedule: MPO Summit in Austin, TX on Tuesday, October 18 – at Austin Marriot Downtown Device Talks West in Santa Clara on WednesdayOctober 19 – at Santa Clara Convention Center Get in touch with me at (917) 878-0772 or by email at tfreeman@asfreeman.com to set up a time to get together.

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03 Jun: New MPO: The End of the World as We Know It

My latest, “Digital Devices, OEMs, and the Supply Chain: The End of the World as We Know It”, out today in MPO Magazine. Introduction: Even casual readers of OEM product websites and the device industry press are aware medical devices contain increasing amounts of digital technology. Putting numbers to the trend, recent Medtronic product announcements show 13 of 17 new products and 24 of 27 of planned products are digitally enabled. Of MPO’s Top 30 OEMs, 26 offer or plan to sell analytics or artificial intelligence products. Nine of the Top 30 offer or have announced robotic surgery devices. Another four are concentrating on digital products to enhance robotic systems. Driving these innovations are economics. Digitally capable, linked devices often produce superior outcomes to mechanical and electromechanical devices that have been the mainstays of OEM product lines for decades. Superior results often lead to lower cost per procedure, pleasing the governments and insurance companies worldwide that pay for healthcare. Read the entire article here, and please get in touch with any comments or questions.

20 Apr: Web discussion: What Happens After COVID-19?

Solving the Supply Chain: What Happens After COVID-19? I’ll be part of a roundtable of industry experts discussing how the global pandemic will change medical device supply chains now and in the future. Joining me virtually will be Sean Fenske, Editor-in-Chief of Medical Product Outsourcing magazine, Todd McCaslin, Global Sourcing Director for Boston Scientific, and Matt Robida, VP of Corporate Development from Spectrum Plastics Group.   UPDATE: In case you missed it, you can listen to a recording of this webinar here (registration required).    

15 Apr: Market Alert: Q1 Decline in J&J Medical Device Revenues

Market Alert: Johnson & Johnson 1st Quarter 2020 results show 4.8% Decline in Medical Device Revenues J&J reported growth in consumer products and pharmaceuticals while noting a 4.8% decline in sales in their Medical Device unit vs. the first quarter of 2019. The Company attributed the drop to delays in general surgical, orthopedic, interventional medicine, and vision procedures due to COVID-19. For more details please visit https://johnsonandjohnson.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/johnson-johnson-reports-2020-first-quarter-results. Please contact tfreeman@asfreeman.com with questions and comments.

03 Apr: Tony Freeman in MPO Magazine: COVID-19 impact on supply chain

Dear Colleague, Below please find a link to an article I wrote for the current online version of Medical Product Outsourcing magazine. The brief piece discusses the short, medium, and long-term effects of the coronavirus pandemic on medical device supply chains. https://www.mpo-mag.com/issues/2020-04-01/view_columns/covid-19s-impact-on-the-medical-device-supply-chain I look forward to your thoughts on the subject. Please contact me at tfreeman@asfreeman.com. Stay safe and well.

16 Sep: Tony Freeman on J&J-Jabil Deal in MPO Magazine

Tony Freeman’s latest column for MPO Magazine: J&J-Jabil Deal Truly Is Transformative for the Medtech Supply Chain On Aug. 2, 2018 Johnson & Johnson announced a reorganization of its Medical Devices division. Many medtech supply chain company managers spend time, effort, and worry to obtain their next big customer. Increasingly, their competition for these opportunities are global contract manufacturers whose roots are in the electronics industry. Johnson & Johnson’s Medical Device unit signaled an epic shift toward these multi-billion dollar international suppliers in transferring a large percentage of its manufacturing capability to Jabil Inc. last summer. The Jabil transaction is often unremarked by longtime medical device specialists, yet it should draw focus as the economics point to shifts in the profit margins of the medtech industry. Additionally, there is the possibility that these manufacturing behemoths will, over time, shift the procurement for device components from traditional North American and European suppliers to Asian firms where global contract manufacturers have the local infrastructure to ensure both low prices and good quality. Read full article here.

18 Oct: Tony Freeman at MPO Summit October 2018

Tony Freeman was this year’s first presenter at the MPO Summit (October 11-12, 2018) in Broomfield, CO. Talking about the State of the Medtech Industry, the talk covered large-scale trends; several categories of risk, along with responses to deal with them; and rules for prospering in the current market. MPO Magazine covered the Summit in real time, with their summary of all speakers here. The presentation in full is now posted on this site. If you are interested in having this presentation for your company, or have any questions or comments, please contact Tony Freeman at tfreeman@asfreeman.com.