The Twin Cities is in the running for millions of federal dollars as a newly designated “tech hub.” It could determine whether our longtime status as a medtech epicenter continues.
The Twin Cities metro has long prided itself on its outsized contributions to the medical device field, dating back to Medtronic founder Earl Bakken’s introduction of the world’s first wearable artificial pacemaker in the late 1950s. Present-day industry leaders are well aware that the standing isn’t permanent, however, especially as cities across the world invest in innovation.
Geoff Martha, who became CEO of medtech giant Medtronic in April 2020, has been pondering the competition for years. In the wake of Covid-19, he says, many governments around the world began thinking about health care less as an expense and more of an opportunity.
Without a concerted effort to maintain Minnesota’s status, “we could start to erode what we have,” he said in an interview at the company’s operational headquarters in Fridley in January. “Resting on our laurels would be an issue.”
That concern fueled his push for the Twin Cities to jump into a new government-sponsored effort to recognize tech hubs around the country. Formally announced this past May, the U.S. Commerce Department will choose among proposals from regions across the country to award funding. The competition was largely intended to boost the U.S. economy and bolster national security. Medical technology was one of 10 “key focus areas,” so it was a natural fit for Medtronic and a host of local industry partners. Results will be announced by spring.
The competition offers more than prestige and a bureaucratic nod; millions of dollars in federal funding are on the line, which project supporters say could be used to help build out and maintain the Twin Cities medtech industry. Pat Dillon, founder and president of nonprofit MNSBIR Inc., who’s helped field scores of applications for federal grants for Minnesota startups over the years, says it’s a chance to “bring back some of the funding [Minnesota sends] to Washington” in the form of tax dollars.
Other industry boosters maintain that the competition presents a chance to bring thousands of well-paying jobs to the region and would provide a shot in the arm for a once-dominant industry at risk of moving to other parts of the country or the world.
Vying for national attention
The Twin Cities metro has, of course, competed for the national spotlight with varying degrees of success over the years. There was the bid to host Super Bowl LII in 2018 (a win for Minneapolis), then, a similar bid for Amazon’s second headquarters, which ultimately went to Arlington, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., suburbs (better luck next time).
But health care industry advocates and observers say that the proposal to make the Twin Cities a national medtech hub is unique because of the level of collaboration among parties often seen as competitors.
In October, the Twin Cities took a major step forward in the competition when it was selected as one of 31 finalists out of nearly 200 applicants across the country. Commerce Department officials said that the designation endorsed each region’s “strategy to supercharge their respective technological industry to create jobs and strengthen U.S. economic and national security.”
The economic development organization Greater MSP, which contributed to local bids for the Super Bowl and Amazon HQ2, authored the region’s initial tech hubs proposal, dubbed “Minnesota MedTech 3.0.” In a proposal that brought in voices across medtech and other sectors, the group said Minnesota would “lead a needed transformation to the third frontier of the world’s medical technology industry.”