Device Companies Advised to Tap Into Military Funding

The military spends billions of dollars annually in partnerships with medical devicemakers, particularly in the areas of R&D and acquisition, David Hood, senior adviser for the Army's Medical Research and Material Command (MRMC), said. This presents opportunities many device companies are unaware of, he added.

Providing soldiers with medical services is MRMC's primary focus, but it also covers soldiers' families and veterans -- a fairly large market -- Hood said, speaking at "Commercialization of Medical Devices," a workshop presented by the Medical Device Manufacturers Association and Vector Resources last month.

Hood named MRMC's four key research programs: Combat Casualty Care, Military Infectious Diseases, Military Operational Medicine and Medical Chemical and Biological Defense.

MRMC provides a lot of extramural funding in these areas, Hood said, citing the $1.1 billion of the Research, Development, Test & Evaluation budget distributed in 2005. He said that of MRMC's appropriated budget, approximately one-third goes to various academic institutions and companies that collaborate with MRMC.

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