"The 21st-Century Schweitzer Is Also Prepared for Business"... Medical Technology Commercialization Conference to Be Held in September

[Sportschosun reporter Jang Jong-ho] The medical technology commercialization conference "MEeT 2026" will be held for the first time on Sept. 10 at The Platz in COEX, Seoul.

MEeT 2026 is a medical technology commercialization conference that stands for Medical, Entrepreneurship, Technology. It aims to connect different stakeholders so that problems identified in clinical settings and ideas from the field can lead to technology development, joint research, investment, regulatory approval, and market entry.

The event is hosted by the Ilsong Educational Foundation, the Korea Convention and Exhibition Industry Research Institute, and EZPMP, and is sponsored by Korea Investment Partners and the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization (KBIO). It is intended for medical professionals, researchers, technology companies, investors, government and support agencies, regulatory, legal and accounting experts, and hospital officials.

With the recent advances in AI, data, digital health, robotics, and biotech, the scope of medical innovation is expanding beyond the clinic and into industry and business. In particular, medical professionals who are closest to unmet clinical needs are drawing attention as a key starting point in technology development and commercialization.

However, the process of commercializing medical technology is not easy. Even medical professionals who best understand clinical needs can face very different opportunities depending on their institution, network, and access to information. Those seeking to turn research results or clinical ideas into technology must overcome many barriers, from early problem definition to finding technology partners, clinical validation, regulatory approval, investment, and market entry.

MEeT 2026 is the first event built around this recognition. While traditional academic conferences focus on research presentations, exhibitions center on finished products and promotion, and startup events concentrate on attracting investment, MEeT focuses on the process by which medical technology commercialization takes shape. It aims to create a forum where medical professionals who identify innovation needs in clinical settings, companies with technology, investors, support agencies, regulatory, legal and tax experts, and hospital officials can meet in one place and discuss how medical technology can move into real-world practice and the market.

At the heart of MEeT 2026 is an open platform for exchange centered on medical professionals. The event puts medical staff at the center, while also bringing together technology companies seeking to better understand clinical needs, startups looking to enter the medical field, researchers considering commercialization of their findings, investors in biotech and medtech, government and support agencies, and professional service providers in areas such as regulation, law, and accounting.

This event goes beyond the usual format of lectures and exhibition tours. It is designed to encourage continued conversation and networking after the sessions. Through keynote speeches and practical sessions, participants will share case studies on medical technology commercialization and doctors' startup experiences. The event will also strengthen opportunities for attendees to ask questions and discuss their concerns directly with speakers and experts.

The program will include a global insights session, practical sessions, roundtables, expert consulting, pitching, exhibitions, and a networking dinner. In the global insights session, Kevin Grimes, a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and co-director of SPARK, the university's flagship translational research program, will share how clinical and research ideas are turned into actual patient care and product development. The session is expected to offer practical insights for medical professionals and researchers considering commercialization, as well as for hospital and university technology transfer staff, university-industry cooperation foundations, and officials at research-oriented hospitals.

Another keynote program will feature senior physician entrepreneurs sharing their experiences under the theme, "Moments of Choice: Physician Entrepreneurship, Decisions That Changed the Stage." They will discuss how medical professionals who identified problems in clinical settings made decisions as entrepreneurs beyond their roles as doctors, what real-world barriers and trial-and-error they faced during commercialization, and what turning points they experienced along the way. The session is expected to offer practical advice from those who walked the path first for medical professionals considering startups, while giving companies and investors seeking to work with doctors a better understanding of the realities of medical technology commercialization.

Yoon Eun-joo, head of the Korea Convention and Exhibition Industry Research Institute, said, "MEeT 2026, being held for the first time, is not an extension of existing events but a newly designed forum centered on the meetings and conversations needed for medical technology commercialization." She added, "We will build it carefully and substantively so that MEeT 2026 can grow into a Korean-style health-tech collaboration platform where clinical insights from the medical field are continuously connected with the technology, investment, and commercialization ecosystem."

Kim Yong-sun, head of Hallym University Medical Center, said, "There are many medical professionals in clinical settings with innovative and creative ideas, but connecting them to commercialization is not easy." He added, "We hope MEeT 2026 will help lay the groundwork for medical technology commercialization to become more active in Korea as well."

Detailed program and speaker information for MEeT 2026 can be found on the official website.

Jang Jong-ho, bellho@sportschosun.com

This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.