Additive Manufacturing Strategies: 3DPrint.com & SmarTech Team Up to Present Summit on the Future of 3D Printing in Medicine and Dentistry

From a business perspective, 3D printing is increasingly being seen as a sound investment; the tech is taking off, growing quickly thanks to backing from strong strategists working to ensure that additive manufacturing is truly a market-ready technology. Medicine and dentistry are two key applications for 3D printing, presenting unparalleled potential for next-generation solutions for patients while also streamlining operations from the providers’ perspective. To better understand the potential for and implications of bringing 3D printing into medicine and dentistry, we are teaming up with SmarTech Markets Publishing, a leading provider of industry analysis and market forecasts for the 3D printing/additive manufacturing industry, to present Additive Manufacturing Strategies, a two-day business- and investment-focused summit to be held in Washington, D.C. focusing on the future of 3D printing in medicine and dentistry.

The main dining room at the Army and Navy Club

On January 22 and 23, 2018, industry experts will gather at the Army and Navy Club, with speakers presenting insights from technological, medical, legal, and business perspectives throughout the course of the event, which also offers ample built-in time for networking. Already announced as speaking during the agenda are:

• Scott DeFelice
  President and CEO, Oxford Performance Materials
• Laura Gilmour
  Medical Account Manager, EOS North America
• Brian R. McLaughlin
  VP of Engineering, Quality & Operations, Additive Orthopaedics LLC
• Mike Drues
  President, Vascular Sciences
• John Hornick
  Partner, Finnegan
• Dr. Roger Narayan
  Professor of Biomedical Engineering UNC/NC State and America Makes Fellow
• Scott Dunham
  Vice President of Research, SmarTech Markets Publishing
• Rik Jacobs
  General Manager, Dental, 3D Systems
• Davide Sher
  Senior Analyst Europe, SmarTech Markets Publishing
• Lawrence Gasman
  President, SmarTech Markets Publishing
• Justin Marks
  Founder and CEO, Arfona
• Katie Weimer
  VP Medical Devices, 3D Systems

This agenda is subject to expansion as more experts confirm their sessions. Day One of the event will follow a focus on 3D Printed Medical Devices, while Day Two will be devoted to Materials, Dental Markets and the Investment Perspective. Many of these speakers, including John Hornick, Scott Dunham, and Katie Weimer, are familiar names indeed as we continue to keep up with their inside examinations of critical applications for 3D printing.

Lawrence Gasman

As we look forward to putting on this event, I talked with SmarTech President Lawrence Gasman to gain additional insights into the value of a seminar dedicated to these verticals.

Why is it important to host events focusing on 3D printing in medical/dental applications?

“Additive manufacturing in the medical and dental sectors is emerging as the largest vertical market for AM equipment, materials and services. It also has unique characteristics for many reasons including regulatory requirements, the need for biocompatibility of materials, distinctive supply chain characteristics, etc. It is high time to create a specialized conference that focuses on the specialized aspects of ‘additive medical and dental’ but one that is primarily focused on identifying and discussing where the business opportunities are and not just technical issues. This is a business-oriented conference so we expect attendees to be from device makers, medical and dental labs, healthcare more generally, and, of course, from the 3DP community as well.”

How does the speaker lineup offer value to attendees?

“The speakers are being chosen to provide attendees with the broadest possible perspective on business opportunities stemming from the use of 3D printing in the medical and dental sectors. Many of the large printer companies are now targeting the medical and dental sectors and we will hear from them as well as from materials companies who have long served the medical and dental space and now want to adapt their products to 3D printed medical devices and tools. Representatives from these types of companies will speak at the Summit as will innovative entrepreneurs who are addressing the needs in additive medical and dental through their startups. There will also be speakers addressing the fundamental challenges in regulation, technology and IP that will affect medical 3D printing. We are planning to provide speakers from innovative startups and from the academic community — so an opportunity to hear about the latest trends. Also, SmarTech’s analysts will be there; giving our view of where medical/dental 3DP is headed commercially as well as sharing our latest forecasts.”

What should attendees hope to gain from the two days of this event?

“We hope that attendees will leave the conference with new business ideas and a better understanding of all the markets that we cover. In addition, we intend the conference to be a place where attendees can meet other attendees to network and do deals, or even just brainstorm and make new colleagues. In other words, we expect that this conference will provide the kind of environment where alliances will be formed and deals will be done between important players in the medical/dental 3DP space.”

What kind of growth does SmarTech project for additive manufacturing in medical applications? Dental? Which areas are expected to see the greatest growth?

“Each segment of the medical and dental business will experience different growth rates, but in all cases the growth will be dramatic. We hope that the attendees will leave the conference with a great understanding of where the growth opportunities are for them and the timeframes which they will appear.”

How does SmarTech expect the shape of financing to change over the coming years in this sector? What about regulations?

“Our regulatory and financial speakers will address these questions in depth. While this is not an investment conference as such we hope that the attendees will better understand where the money for additive dental and medical will come from and how critical sources such as venture capitalists are thinking about this sector. Also we anticipate that many of the speakers will make regulatory factors core to many of the talks.”

Registration is open now, with an early bird rate of $895 available through November 15th; onsite and single-day registrations have their own rates. Special rates are available for groups of two or more people from an organization for the two-day agenda, and for government-affiliated attendees. Registration and inquiries can be handled via email. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. Additional details and an up-to-date agenda can be seen here.

Will we see you at this seminar? Let us know your thoughts; join the discussion of this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com, or discuss in the Facebook comments below.