May 16: See updated startup list below. -Ed.

FOR the first time in a decade, Music City's HealthIT and Healthcare Services sectors, as well as its budding Medical Devices industry, have helped lure a key industry association out of Atlanta for its annual meeting.

The Southeastern Medical Device Association (SEMDA) convenes here May 18-19 in Music City Center.

The event -- expected to draw north of 450 -- features pitches by medtech startups or early-stage companies, as well as participation by 15 or more "true investors," said Jim Stefansic, the Nashville entrepreneur who's been working with SEMDA Executive Director Jason Rupp and the group's board to convene the 2016 SEMDA conference in Nashville.

Stefansic said key factors in SEMDA's decision to meet in Nashville included growing appreciation for the interrelated roles and interests of device makers, HealthIT and healthcare providers, including influential companies based in the Nashville area.

SEMDA's Rupp emphasized that the list of pitching companies is likely to expand dramatically and diversify somewhat prior to the conference, as discussions with potential presenters are still underway. Stefansic said talks continue with some HealthIT/analytics startups, among others.

Tiffany Wilson Global Center for Medical Innovation among Semda speakers

Rupp provided Venture Nashville the identities of startups scheduled to speak. They are:

Newly listed May 16: DigitalVision Systems (Atlanta); Innovasan (Knoxville); OBMedical (Gainesville); PreTel (Memphis); Pristine Surgical (Illinois); and, uLiV (Nashville).

Previously listed: Adhesys Medical (Germany; Texas); Amend Surgical (Florida); Arcato Laboratories (North Carolina); Cardiac Profiles (Nashville); Evoke Medical (Kansas); Faros Healthcare (Nashville); General Graphene (Oak Ridge); Innara Health (Kansas); Intent Solutions (Atlanta); Nfant Labs (Atlanta); Promeditec (Italy); Sanguina (Atlanta); Strataca Systems (Atlanta); Surgitrac (North Carolina); SweetBio (Memphis).

The startups list will be updated as warranted. Other pitch details here.

SEMDA says investors attending include 2nd Generation Capital (Nashville), Bio/Med Investor Network (Atlanta), Harbert Venture Partners (Birmingham, Richmond), Hatteras Venture Partners (Durham), HealthQuest Capital (Menlo Park, Atlanta), Innova Memphis (Memphis), Mountain Group Partners (Nashville), NueCura (Nashville), River Cities Capital Funds (Cincinnati, Raleigh), Sante Ventures (Austin), Silicon Valley Bank (Santa Clara, Atlanta), Solas BioVentures (Chattanooga), TriStar Technology Ventures (Nashville) and Valor Ventures (Atlanta).

While generally creating stronger ties with the Southeast's medtech players, the SEMDA event also represents a potential new rallying-point for Tennessee actors -- and might help build a better bridge between Nashville's Healthcare/HealthIT sectors and Memphis' medical devices sector.

Ed Cantwell Center for Medical Interoperability

The SEMDA program promises fresh content centered on key topics, including:

► Outcomes/Costs: How Payers, Providers, Clinicians shape medtech revenue.

► CEO Panel: Making the product value/use case for stakeholders.

► Entrepreneurial Panel: Interoperability and the Future of Digital Health.

► Leveraging CMS Data to accelerate Health System change.

► Panel: Making the industry case to medtech investors, partners, strategics.

► Evidence Street, the branded proprietary Web platform for reviewing healthcare evidence reviews.

► Key Factors in Online presence for early-stage medtech companies.

► Talent Pipeline: Vanderbilt, Duke, Virginia, GeorgiaTech discuss campus-industry ties.

► Panel: Developing, Defending and Leveraging Intellectual Property.

► Spotlight Awards Speaker: Sam Lynch, founder and former CEO, Biomimetic Therapeutics

► Conference Keynote: Bruce Rosengard, M.D., FRCS, FACS, who is Johnson & Johnson's global Chief Medical Science Technology Officer for Medical Devices

Other organizations providing speakers and panelists:

1. AdvaMed
2. Baker & Hostetler
3. Bauerfeind
4. Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
5. Boston Scientific
6. Carestream Health
7. Center for Medical Interoperability
8. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
9. Device Talks
10. Duke University
11. Georgia Tech
12. Global Center for Medical Innovation
13. Hangenics
14. HCA
15. Health Here
16. IBHC Advisors
17. Memphis Bioworks Foundation
18. NextGxDx
19. Numerof & Assocs.
20. OrthoWorx
21. Philips Healthcare
22. Prism Technologies
23. Sarnova
24. Secure BioMed Evaluations
25. SI Bone
26. SweetBio
27. Tao Life Sciences
28. T3 Labs
29. TriStar Technology Ventures
30. University of Virginia
31. Vanderbilt University
32. Wright Medical (BioMimetic)
33. Waller Lansden

The conference has nearly 50 sponsoring, cooperating and/or supporting organizations, with the most prominently listed names including Butler Snow, BakerHofstetler, Johnson & Johnson, Glenveigh Medical and Solas Bioventures. The full list is here.

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