Hi There Dr. Lee. A friend of mine is building the future replacement for the Epipen, which will generally be 1/2 the size; cost 2x less; and last 2x as long. So there is hope!

I’ve watched their company go through all of the work related to trials, and finally, to reach an agreement on production and licensing/distribution. After at least 8 years. The process seems to take forever and be controlled by the largest players who can manufacture, distribute, sell, all while dictating the rules of the game via policy. Until we get to a point where healthcare product innovation isn’t choked off by larger players, I think we’ll continue to see big pharma and device companies practice incremental innovation, if at all (which is typically the safest play if an innovation play is needed to sustain market share).

My professional focus is on digital products and service experiences — where luckily, design, manufacturing, and distribution are much smaller issues. I’m curious if you share the opinion that digital health seems to be more ripe for intervention (and where fewer or no dominant players seem to exist to squash the opportunities for others yet), at least in the sense of outpatient/wellness/preventative care.