The Success of Roceso Technologies

We touch base with JUMPstart’s star, Ms Jane Wang, on her journey as an entrepreneur.

The journey so far…

Starting out as a research project under A/Prof. Yeow Chen Hua at the NUS Department of Biomedical Engineering, Roceso Technologies has successfully commercialised the NUS background IP into a scalable product and service. Since 2018, the company has set up ISO13485:2016 Quality Manufacturing System with a full scope of Design and Development, Manufacturing, Distribution and Storage. Their flagship product EsoGLOVE™, a soft robotic exoskeleton for hand rehabilitation of stroke patients to enable Activities of Daily Living (ADL) have completed FDA Registration, CE Class 2a approval and HSA Class B approval. They have signed up with distributors in Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, and Ukraine and in the process of registering and signing distribution contracts in Japan and Korea. Recently, a German JV has been setup with their partner Moveri to start commercialization activities in EU market.

Overcoming the initial struggles…

Although the company faced teething troubles, Roceso Technologies and the founders focused on a design thinking approach at the early stage of product development for EsoGLOVE Pro. The patient journey and design requirements were drafted out with inputs from potential customers and users and the team also conducted various risk analysis processes to mitigate risk and ensure the product meets the requirements. “Many start-ups treat these necessary processes and quality management system as a burden, and they do it only to pass audit. But with a proper medical device design control process, there is less chance for us to make major mistakes which may require a pivot.” reflects Ms. Jane Wang, the CEO of the company. Further support in the way of NUS Enterprise GRIP grant and the JUMPstart program offered an accelerated way to empower the founders, Ms. Jane Wang and Dr. Yap Hong Kai with the industry and domain knowledge necessary for their entrepreneurial journey. “We did not have systematic knowledge about medical device regulations, quality management system and commercialization. With JUMPstart, we also built a network of entrepreneurs who grow together and support one another in the journey.” adds Ms. Jane.

Many start-ups treat these necessary processes and quality management system as a burden, and they do it only to pass audit. But with a proper medical device design control process, there is less chance for us to make major mistakes which may require a pivot.

On Regulated Nature of Medical Device Innovation

When asked about the challenges they faced as a medical device innovator, the founder stresses on the regulated nature of medical device innovation. “Medical device innovation is highly complex and regulated compared to general tech-innovation. Time to market is generally much longer due to the whole process necessary for regulatory approvals. To achieve efficacy and safety, a structured way of design and development is needed with risk analysis and design validation. Product launches can be slow due to regulatory and healthcare system variations. However, due to the regulated nature of medical device innovation, there are less creativity involved in terms of business model and design compared to general tech-innovation.”

The two important things to note are:

1. Product tests have to fulfill various local and international standards before even submitting for regulatory approval in various countries.
2. Product tests have to fulfill various local and international standards before even submitting for regulatory approval in various countries.

On expansion and fundraising…

Having successfully expanded the start-up, we asked Ms. Jane to shine light on the fundraising for medical device innovation. While she agrees fundraising for early stage med-tech innovations have challenges attracting investors’ attention due to the long time-to-market and complexity in commercialization, she believe the key is for start-ups to carefully draft a business plan and pitch not only from technology and business point of view but also from investment return point of view to speak the same language with investors.

The key is to draft a business plan from a return on investment perspective as well as speak the same language as the investors.

Innovating in COVID-19 times…

Further, in these difficult times of COVID-19, the company has been quick to pivot on creating revenue generation streams by exploring the rehabilitation-robot rental business and launched their Viely^TM brand for more online revenue. They have temporarily supplied PPEs internationally and at the same time, the team shifted focus to important matters such as preparation for our international expansion and upcoming audits, such that we are ready when governments are easing the measures and economies are open.

To all start-ups, Ms. Jane has three quick success mantras:

1. Stay resilient.
2. Stay lean at an early stage
3. Speak the other party’s language.

About the Founder

Ms. Jane was working in a European management consulting firm as a Senior Consultant, before founding Roceso Technologies in 2016.  Her role consisted of business development, consultancy project management and execution. She also has experience in engineering, intellectual property and human resources.

A self-driven entrepreneur she has always been interested in starting her own business and has a strong interest in medicine and healthcare. She believes in doing good by doing well and finds med-tech to be a great combination of my personal interests and experience to achieve that in her life.

Final Thoughts

Often an idea alone is often not enough to become a MedTech success, however, the best entrepreneurs are those who maximize all the support available in their ecosystem to become next big stars. Just as in Ms. Jane’s journey, choosing the right accelerator and support mechanism can deeply impact your success rate at commercialsation.