Dr Dominique (Dom) Freeman is Director of Business Development, Cambridge Design Partnership USA. Educated at Oxford and the California Institute of Technology, Dom is a medical technology expert with 28 years’ experience in the industry.
Dom leads Cambridge Design Partnership’s US medtech office, and is involved in all aspects of healthcare product development for the company, including the creation of patents and technology portfolios leading to licensing opportunities. Last month saw a milestone for Dom in this area as she announced the 100th US patent as a named inventor.
Why did you join Cambridge Design Partnership?
I had been working with Cambridge Design Partnership in my previous company since 2002, where CDP helped create prototypes, solved challenging technical problems and led manufacturing ‘scale up’ for a novel electronic lancing device. On selling the company, it seemed a natural transition to continue working with Cambridge Design Partnership developing business in the US. I had very much enjoyed working with the team throughout the years.
What background do you come from and how do you apply this knowledge to your current role?
My background is ‘medical device centric’. Initially I developed magnetic resonance techniques for non-invasive measurement of metabolism in health and disease, with a specific focus on the kidneys, heart and cancer. This MR background allowed me to apply some techniques to create a novel electronic actuator, which was turned into a product for painless lancing for people with diabetes.
Experience of developing and patent-protecting the lancing device has been very useful when talking to customers about how Cambridge Design Partnership can help solve technical challenges that may limit the performance of their products.
What interesting projects are you working on at the moment?
Projects range from working with a large company to visualize and evaluate a complex patent portfolio, to helping a smaller company understand the value of their product concept to a large market with significant competition and barriers to entry; and expanding the business for CDP in Healthcare and consumer goods in the Americas.
What do you see as the hot trends in your area at the moment and what is coming up in 2013?
New FDA regulations and taxes in the medical device arena, increased emphasis on patent portfolio management and how this links to the competitive landscape, and an intensified focus on sustainable packaging are all hot topics for 2013.
What hobbies do you have outside work?
Yes, equine endurance racing. I represent Great Britain in this sport and travel around North and South America and Europe to compete. I was Pan American Open gold medalist in 2009. It keeps me (and the horses!) fit and provides a nice counterbalance to work: (go to www.marquisdefad.com for more details).
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