How to Build a Strong Network of Investors and Partners for Your Medtech Startup

DermaSensor CEO Cody Simmons knew he wanted to work in the healthtech space as an undergraduate at Brown University. While completing the master’s program at Stanford, he realized his passion for developing and commercializing health technologies.

But at the age of 22, he wasn’t quite ready for a full-time startup role and decided to join the corporate world and spent four years at Genentech — two years in the company’s leadership development program and two years in the U.S. pricing contracting strategy group for oncology drugs. While at Genentech, Cody learned about business analytics; strategy and commercialization; and how high-functioning, high-performing organizations operate.

In 2016, he met entrepreneur and DermaSensor Co-Founder and Chair Maurice Ferré, who asked Cody to join the company and help bring its namesake product — a handheld skin cancer detection tool — to bear.

With Cody at the helm, DermaSensor has raised $27 million to launch the world’s first point-and-click skin cancer detection tool for primary care providers.

DermaSensor carries the European Union CE mark, and is also registered and available for sale in Australia and New Zealand.

Pursuing FDA marketing approval, the company received breakthrough device designation for the DermaSensor product and in 2021 completed the first-ever FDA pivotal study for a primary care-focused skin cancer detection tool.

In this episode of Medsider, Cody talks about the importance of discovering whether there’s alignment between regulatory requirements and payer needs, as well as finding opportunities to streamline your clinical testing plan to meet both sets of criteria; why you should seek out ally investors; and how you can de-risk your technology for potential investment partners.