PROSPER®

WORK --- ON THE JOB
Healthy
Prognosis
MEDICAL MAIN STREET
HELPS COMPANIES CONNECT
— AND THRIVE
By Tom Beaman
Photo: Courtesy of Coherent RX
When Kevin Lasser was asked to moderate a panel on mobile
health at Oakland County’s 2014 Medical Main Street INNO-
VENTION conference, he wasn’t expecting to gain a new
customer.
But that’s what happened. Lasser is CEO of JEMS
Technology in Lake Orion, which produces tele-health
equipment — Lasser calls it “Skype on steroids” — that
allows doctors to consult using smart devices over a secure,
regulation-compliant data stream. After the panel, Lasser
met Mike Weber, CEO of Quipzor LLC in Bloomfield Hills.
Weber was developing a product that lets medical device
representatives communicate virtually with surgeons
about their products, but he wasn’t having any luck finding
the technology he needed — until he met Lasser at the
conference, that is.
“After the session, he said, ‘I think you have the technology
we need,’ ” Lasser says. “Now we are the sole provider of
software for his application.
“I have seen firsthand how Medical Main Street helped me
in my business — and others.”
The annual INNO-VENTION conference, which recognizes
advancements that promise the most dramatic impact on
Michigan’s health care industry, is the premier event put on by
Medical Main Street, Oakland County’s initiative to maximize
the growth potential of the health care and life science sectors
in Southeast Michigan. Medical Main Street’s network of 400
— and growing — hospitals, universities and businesses offers
a diversity of support and collaboration to local companies
while attracting more businesses, talent and customers to
the region. The Medical Main Street team helps businesses
access capital, coordinate incentives, locate building sites,
conduct market and industry research and recruit employees
who have the right training.
In 2014, 10 health care and medical device companies
expanded their business in Oakland County, resulting in
$70.3 million in total investment and the creation or retention
of 1,440 jobs. Since Medical Main Street was launched in
2008, nearly 50 companies have invested close to $1 billion
to create or retain 8,000 jobs.
“Medical Main Street is now a globally known brand,” says
Troy-based Coherent RX’s anatomy app.
Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. “Together,
we’ve created a center of innovation in medical research and
development, education and commercialization. The strength
of our network and the respected authority of our board
members have provided us incredible recognition in the life
science world.”
To spur growth and innovation, and to let the world know
about the opportunities available in Oakland County, Medical
Main Street actively participates in industry conferences and
global trade missions.
The team was represented at many events in 2015,
including the BIOMEDevice Expo in Boston and the Healthcare
Supply Chain Expo in Washington, D.C.
“Medical Main Street’s mission is to grow the medical device
and related industries in Oakland County and in Michigan,”
says Phil L’Esperance, business development director at MI4
Spine. He traces the successful commercialization of his
company’s minimally invasive spinal surgery product directly to
connections made at INNO-VENTION. “They continue to bring
companies together with key resources to advance their fields.”
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