Launch of RespiraSense™, a four steps approach:
Analysis Phase
Market analysis to map structure, important hospitals/ clinics, key opinion leaders, reimbursement systems, etc. and identify suitable hospitals/ clinics for pilot installations.
Pilot Phase
Initial installations in one or two wards of a hospital. The purpose of the pilot is to create a local reference for how RespiraSense™ can create value.
Sales Phase
Establishment of direct sales organisation commencing with business development personnel and growing the team as the market evolves as well as accessing the local reimbursement system and converting the first pilot installations to ongoing customers.
Growth Phase
Expansion of the local presence and marketing to many hospitals.
Launch in selected EU markets
Medical technology companies in the upscaling phase usually focus on the four largest markets in the EU, i.e., Germany, France, Italy and Spain. PMD will concentrate on markets that have the best conditions for a successful launch of RespiraSense™ with a focus on:
Digital maturity
Tendency to adopt innovative technical solutions in healthcare.
Reimbursement systems
Patient monitoring systems are included in all reimbursement systems, but the time and resources required to be included in the systems vary between countries.
National guidelines
Countries with clear guidelines for respiratory monitoring will be given priority.
As RespiraSense™ is a product that differs significantly from existing respiratory monitoring products, PMD believes that a dedicated sales effort will be required for a successful market introduction in Europe. In the management’s view, a market launch is best done with a direct sales model with a local PMD employee presence in each market. The possibility of using local distributors in Europe has been evaluated and the conclusion is that there is a significant risk that RespiraSense™ will not receive sufficient support to gain entry if the product is one of many products handled by a distributor.
The strategic choice to launch RespiraSense™ with a direct sales model in Europe means a higher demand for capital. It also means that the number of markets that can be addressed initially in parallel, will be limited. This makes the selection of the markets to be addressed important, and to be able to make an informed decision, PMD undertook a major market analysis in the autumn of 2021 and identified Germany for the launch of RespiraSense™ during 2024/ 25, in addition to continuing to grow Ireland and the UK.