This is the eleventh in a series of 6-Question interviews with leaders who are challenging conventional thinking in Orthopedics (read other interview here).
Why did it take so long for an entrepreneur to address the orthopedic pediatric market opportunity?
We made custom implants for children when I was back at Smith and Nephew decades ago, but no manufacturer carried a standard offering for kids. Then in 2006, I witnessed Nick Deeter break out and attack the pediatric market head-on. Nick is a pioneer in pediatric orthopedics.
I sat down with Nick to ask him a few questions about his pediatric startup Wishbone Medical.
1) What was the genesis of WishBone Medical?
I have been passionate about helping kids with orthopedic needs for a long time.
Over 20 years ago, while in charge of Orthogenesis at DePuy, a Johnson & Johnson Company, I made custom orthopedic implants for children. Unfortunately, these custom implants were expensive and took a great deal of time to manufacture. Aside from the relative small number of custom implants, the whole industry seemed to avoid this special niche. Even today, while an adult may have 40 hip systems to chose from, a child has none...
