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Accelerating time from medical device design transfer to production

Nick Ciccarelli is the president of Neuma, LLC a medical device engineering company based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. With a primary focus on drug delivery devices, Neuma is dedicated to helping pharmaceutical and medical technology companies accelerate the transition from design to production. The company’s Design for Production (DFP) services allow clients to address costs and risks related to testability, manufacturability, and assembly early on a product’s lifecycle.

EDWIN WARFIELD: As your company grows, what attributes do you look for in new hires?

NICK CICCARELLI: When we first identified the nine individuals we ended up hiring to form what is now Neuma, the common thread across all these individuals—and they all have different working styles and different personalities—but the common thread is they’re problem solvers, they are open to wearing multiple hats, and no one ever says “that’s not my job or I can’t do that.” The greatest skill that anyone will learn in engineering school is the means by which to be resourceful, to learn on the job, to solve problems on the fl. That’s what this group does really well: figuring out something they may have not known previously but that they can overcome and master in a short amount of time. For future employees or for future prospects, we would look for the same type of skill sets—some ambition and motivation to solve problems and continue to learn, because we’re not banking on anyone’s previous experience for all future problems that they may face. Sure, someone comes in with expertise but that doesn’t necessarily mean that something we work on in the future may be a little bit out of their comfort zone. We want people to be comfortable not being in their comfort zone. We want people to continue to learn and continue to attack problems with some voraciousness.

Q. You mentioned connected devices—the internet of things—earlier in our convesation. How do you think this technology will change medicine in the near future?

A. I think everyone is acutely aware of what connected devices and internet of things mean for their daily lives. We started out simple—step tracking, and at-home wireless speakers, and those types of things—but it’s inevitable that our health data is going to be shared across platforms and across people, from payers to providers to patients. That flow of information will go up and down and between all of those.

As devices mature and develop more technology, generally more functionality is going to be involved with those devices. People are going to demand it. People want to be more involved in their own health care and people want access to their information—they want to make actionable decisions based off of that data. Even if that capability may not be immediately available today, it is imminent. We all have to be prepared, not only from an engineering perspective but from a personal perspective, as to how we’re going to manage that.

Q. Where do you see Neuma headed in the next few years?

A. There are many avenues we can go down. Our number one goal right now is to enable medical technologies to get them out into the market. As I mentioned earlier, IP and ideas are worthless if they’re not put into the hands of physicians and patients. I know that from my own experience as an engineer, you think everything that you work on and your ideas are the best of the best, but if it never gets off the shelf and into people’s hands, it really is worthless. So, I think our most immediate goal is enabling our customers’ medical technologies and supporting them to get their products to market. If Neuma can be successful in helping them achieve that goal, then as a business, we will reap the rewards of that as well.

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ABOUT NEWMARK KNIGHT FRANK

Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) is one of the world's leading commercial real estate advisory firms. Together with London-based partner Knight Frank and independently-owned offices, NKF's 15,000 professionals operate from more than 400 offices in established and emerging property markets on six continents.

With roots dating back to 1929, NKF's strong foundation makes it one of the most trusted names in commercial real estate. NKF's full-service platform comprises BGC's real estate services segment, offering commercial real estate tenants, landlords, investors and developers a wide range of services including leasing; capital markets services, including investment sales, debt placement, appraisal, and valuation services; commercial mortgage brokerage services; as well as corporate advisory services, consulting, project and development management, and property and corporate facilities management services. For further information, visit www.ngkf.com.

NKF is a part of BGC Partners, Inc., a leading global brokerage company servicing the financial and real estate markets. BGC's common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol (NASDAQ: BGCP). BGC also has an outstanding bond issuance of Senior Notes due June 15, 2042, which trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol (NYSE: BGCA). BGC Partners is led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer  Howard W. Lutnick. For more information, please visit www.bgcpartners.com.

Edwin Warfield, CEO of citybizlist, conducts the CEO Interviews.

If you're interested in reaching CEOs, please contact edwin.warfield@citybuzz.co

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