10 Tips for doing medical device business in Israel

Israel is the only "western" country in the Middle East. With a population of 7.4 Million, it is well known for innovation, both from developing & export, & for technology adoption. The high level of medical care is led by a few university hospitals in the 4 major cities. Being a small country, one may feel that everybody knows everyone.

A few tips that may help a company considering entering the Israeli market:

Regulatory ? if you have CE or FDA approvals you shall not have regulatory difficulties.
Reimbursement - Define the procedures of your product, most of the products don?t need special reimbursement (especially if they are a part of the procedure), if you need special reimbursement ? it could take 1-3 years, but it does not prevent penetration of the products to the Israeli market to some extent.
Procedures opportunities - Define the KOL (Key opinion leaders) by the number of procedures, their activity and/or by number of patients that they see, not by their name. The use of media for personal PR may bias one away from the real high volume clinicians.
Define the market segment -
The Israeli market offers great opportunities for all the product segments:

? Low cost products - The health expenditure in Israel is one of the highest worldwide. The MOH and hospitals try to reduce the expenditure on the medical devices.

? New technologies: The regulatory and the reimbursement allow fast penetration to the market. However, pricing may pose a problem sometimes .But the private market (35% of the procedures) could be a great solution as a first penetration step.

Allocate the distributors ? In Israel you will find a large number of medical distributors. You have to be careful, because Israeli people are very ambitious. You have to check their background, their products portfolio and receive recommendation from the KOL. Also, you have to manage a close and friendly relationship with them, while checking the opportunities all the time. It is recommended to allocate distributors who are familiar with the MOH and sick fund system, having a deep understanding in regulatory and reimbursement issues, having a good presence in the private market.
Define early adapters ? most of the KOL in Israel are early adapters . But for innovative medical device, one has to define the relevant KOL, with commitment for the products and should have willingness for a long standing commitment, since the chances of moving away are high in case of Innovators.
High end technologies ? If you have new technologies (and not ?me-to? technologies that compete only in terms of price) divide your target for private market and public market. Technologies are found to grow faster, if penetration is performed via the private market first.
Rabbis? Israel is mainly a Jewish country. Although most of the peoples are not religious, a fair number of people consult with special rabbis known as "medical professionals". Rabbis are giving second opinion regarding the treatment, regarding the doctors & the technologies. In case of innovative, pioneering technologies, after getting the support of the right doctors, it's highly recommended to inform this group of influential people.