(Back row, from left) Kelvyn Cullimore, Shaun Rothwell, Andrew Hemmert, Seth Egan, Christian Eversull, David Wilson. (Front row, from left) Erin Barry, James Kennedy, Sarah Ptach, Jonathan Benns. (Photo by Megan Bartholomew)
(Photo by Megan Bartholomew)
Utah’s medical device and life sciences industry is emerging as a national player, powered by an unusually tight ecosystem, billion‑dollar deals and a fast‑developing radiopharmaceutical hub, according to executives at a recent roundtable discussion.
Over the past 12 months, Utah has logged three roughly billion‑dollar life sciences acquisitions, major expansions from global manufacturers, and new investment in incubators and advanced manufacturing. But participants said the biggest shift is structural: a more coordinated network linking state government, universities, hospitals and industry.
“What did rise to my mind was the effort we’ve seen over the last 12 months to build collaborations from government to industry to academia, building a stronger ecosystem, more connectedness than I had ever seen before,” said Andrew Hemmert, senior vice president of molecular research and development at bioMérieux.
Policy and Partnerships Put Utah on the Map
Executives credited a mix of state policy and industry organizing for the recent momentum. Governor‑led trade missions, BioUtah’s advocacy work, and resources such as the Nucleus Fund, World Trade Center Utah and STEP grants were all cited as catalysts.
Co‑Diagnostics Co‑Founder Seth Egan said those efforts are raising Utah’s profile globally.
“I feel like Utah is doing everything they can to help support and bring visibility to companies in the state,” Egan said, pointing to trade missions and export support programs.
Several speakers also highlighted more formalized relationships with the University of Utah and its hospital, including a university partner network at BD that now features the UofU as a flagship collaborator.
Despite competition in areas like diagnostics, participants described a culture that still leans cooperative.
“Even around this table, we have a lot of us that are competing with each other. … But it’s also collaborative and it's supportive of each company,” said Egan.
Top‑Five Device Producer, Emerging Radiopharma Hub
The impact is measurable. BioUtah President Kelvyn Cullimore told the group that Utah has recorded three major deals in the past eight months, including acquisitions of Ultradent and Scientia Vascular, each approaching or exceeding $1 billion when earn‑outs are included.
“We have had three billion-dollar deals in the life sciences medical device industry in Utah in the last eight months. … Medtronic is coming to town, and the CEO of Medtronic made the comment that essentially they’ve had FOMO (fear of missing out) about not being in Utah,” Cullimore said.
Cullimore said Utah is now among the top five states for medical device manufacturing by volume. By share of workforce employed in life sciences, Utah ranks third behind only Massachusetts and New Jersey.
“There are only two states that have a higher percentage of their workforce employed in the life sciences … and we are third,” he said.
That growth is showing up inside local firms as well. Christian Eversull, founder of AUST Group, said cardiac electrophysiology work has taken off in Utah, helped by close ties to the University of Utah.
“One of the big drivers of growth for us has been cardiac electrophysiology,” he said. “The shift to high‑voltage ablation and our collaboration with the University of Utah have made this a very productive environment for us.”
At the same time, West Valley City is being positioned as a radiopharmaceutical hub, anchored by Nusano, which aims to produce medical isotopes at scale. Radiopharmaceuticals use radioactive isotopes to diagnose and treat cancers and other diseases but require production close to patients because of short half‑lives.
Sarah Ptach, president and CEO of Canyon Labs, said the cluster is already drawing specialized drug developers and support firms, positioning Utah as “a major player in that market.”
“You can’t talk about new innovation in Salt Lake without talking about Nusano and the radioactive pharmaceutical hub that is developing in Salt Lake and in West Valley … this huge surge in the potential for Salt Lake to be a radioactive pharmaceutical hub,” she said, adding that the radioactive pharmaceutical market is one of the fastest advancements in the pharmaceutical space globally in the past year.
She noted there are currently only about seven radiopharmaceutical products on the U.S. market. “It’s expected to be 200 over the next five years,” she said.
(Photo by Megan Bartholomew)
Point‑of‑Care and Minimally Invasive Care Gain Ground
On the product side, leaders pointed to three areas gaining particular traction in Utah: point‑of‑care diagnostics, minimally invasive and image‑guided interventions, and technologies aimed at reducing healthcare‑associated infections (HAIs).
Egan said patient expectations are driving demand for rapid answers at the bedside and in clinics.
“Customers and patients are really demanding or wanting to have care closer at their bedside. … They're wanting to go to a doctor and have an answer while they’re there,” he said. “They don't want to wait weeks to get answers or days to get answers.”
Co‑Diagnostics just submitted a point‑of‑care upper respiratory diagnostic device to the FDA, said Egan. Hemmert said a bioMérieux team recently submitted a women’s health point‑of‑care test for FDA review.
In devices, Erin Barry, vice president of government affairs at Merit Medical, pointed to the spread of minimally invasive, image‑guided procedures as a major shift with direct patient impact. She cited her 11‑year‑old daughter, who has a congenital heart defect.
“When she was born, we were told her next valve replacement would be open-heart as well,” Barry said. “The last time we were with her cardiologist, we were told actually they’re just going to use a catheter, and … open-heart is probably not on the table anymore,” she said. “The patient outcome is phenomenal, and I think that’s the advancement you’re seeing right here in Utah.”
Meanwhile, companies like Evoq are targeting HAIs and antimicrobial resistance with engineered materials rather than traditional chemistries. Chairman and CEO Shaun Rothwell framed the issue as both a market opportunity and a public health threat.
“We’re … focused 100 percent of our efforts on reducing HAIs — healthcare-associated infections — and … how do we address this drug resistance problem that is becoming ever more prevalent in the world,” Rothwell said, calling it an “existential threat.”
He cited estimates that roughly 100,000 Americans die annually from device‑related infections.
AI Adoption Outpaces Regulatory Comfort
Across the discussion, artificial intelligence surfaced as both an enabler and a risk.
In healthcare IT, David Wilson of AdvancedMD said “agentic” AI systems are moving beyond transcription to execute tasks on behalf of clinicians, from front‑desk intake to billing workflows and chronic care management.
“It started with kind of ambient listening and transcribing … but now we’re getting into actually seeing agents being adopted, where the AI is going and performing tasks on behalf of the clinicians,” he said.
Manufacturers reported using AI for visual inspection, quality tracking and internal software development. At the same time, several described rising cybersecurity threats, including rapid spikes in overseas traffic after public announcements and more intrusive customer audits of data security.
Ptach said the FDA’s own AI‑enabled assistant, ELSA, has had mixed impacts on review timelines. In one case, she said, the tool flagged 175 issues in a 510(k) submission because it couldn’t parse embedded images, forcing the company to re‑submit nearly 1,000 pages of tabular data and delaying clearance by more than seven months.
James Kennedy, acting vice president of research and development at BD, said the challenge now is not whether to use AI, but how.
“It’s not going to be who uses AI that becomes successful in the future,” Kennedy said. “It’s going to be who uses AI effectively.”
By the Numbers: Utah’s Medtech & Life Sciences Momentum
Three major deals in 8 months. Roughly $3 billion in combined life sciences and medical device acquisitions, including AlterDent and Scientia Vascular.
Top‑5 device manufacturing state. Utah is “probably now the fifth-largest manufacturer of medical devices among all states.”
No. 3 in life sciences workforce concentration. Only Massachusetts and New Jersey have a higher percentage of their workforce in life sciences; Utah ranks third.
Radiopharma on the rise. About seven radiopharmaceutical products currently on the U.S. market, projected to reach approximately 200 in the next five years, with Salt Lake positioned as a “major, major player.”
100,000 deaths annually from device‑related infections. An estimated 100,000 Americans die each year from infections caused by medical devices, a key target for Utah‑based materials and device innovators.
