Uncategorized

Medtronic exec: Google looms large as next great rival

May 7, 2014 by Brian Johnson

Medtronic executive Dr. Stephen Oesterle thinks Google will be a force to be reckoned with in the medical technology space in coming years.

As Medtronic‘s  (NYSE:MDT) resident technology scout and visionary, Dr. Stephen Oesterle’s job is to challenge the status quo at the world’s largest pure-play medical device company.

This morning Oesterle’s challenge to the medical device industry, issued at a meeting of the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council, was a sobering one.

 “Our arch-competitor in 20 years will not be Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) or St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) or Covidien (NYSE:COV) or HeartWare (NSDQ:HTWR). It will be Google(NSDQ:GOOG). I am certain of it,” Oesterle told the audience at MassMEDIC’s annual conference today in Boston.

Oesterle, Medtronic’s senior vice president for medicine and technology, travels a quarter-million miles a year scouting new technologies, potential partnerships and other unique opportunities for Minnesota’s medtech Goliath. He also has access to an R&D budget that would make many of his colleagues jealous, but that’s nothing compared to what Google is spending, Oesterle said.

 

READ THE REST HERE

Josh Sandberg

Josh Sandberg is the President and CEO of Ortho Spine Partners and sits on several company and industry related Boards. He also is the Creator and Editor of OrthoSpineNews.

Related Articles

Back to top button