DOTmed News spoke to Scott Dodson, CEO of AirXpanders, about how to make a company successful on an international scale — and why that's important in today's changing health care environment.

DOTmed News: First off, can you tell us a little bit about what AirXpanders does?

Scott Dodson: AirXpanders, Inc., is a medical device company focused on the area of tissue expansion. Our first product, AeroForm, was developed as an alternative to traditional saline tissue expanders used for breast reconstruction after a mastectomy.

Typically, women going through this process visit their doctor for frequent, painful saline injections to create a pocket of space for a permanent breast implant. By comparison, AeroForm is a needle-free tissue expander activated by the patient, using a handheld wireless controller that administers small amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the device to slowly expand the skin.



This technology is easy to use and enables the patient to expand much faster than the current standard of care. AirXpanders also plans to develop tissue expanders that can be used in other therapeutic areas, such as burns and pediatrics.

The AeroForm device is CE Marked, approved in Australia and under investigation in the United States. Pending clearance from the FDA, AirXpanders is preparing for the market launch of AeroForm in the U.S. early next year.

DOTmed News: Why is it important for American companies to develop an international marketing strategy?

SD: It is important for companies to develop international marketing strategies because the practice of medicine itself is quite global. Through telemedicine, global conferences, publications and training opportunities there are more similarities today than ever before.

Additionally, companies can often market their products in international markets faster than they can in the United States. This process is invaluable in fine tuning the messaging, best practices, logistics and sales model in a smaller market before launching one’s technology on a macro scale.

DOTmed News: What international markets has AirXpanders worked in?

SD: Although not the most common strategy, AirXpanders has seen tremendous success in Australia. We have also secured some very positive feedback in Europe where we have received our CE Mark.

DOTmed News: Many U.S. companies look to expand into European markets. Why did you choose Australia?

SD: We selected Australia for several reasons; it has lower regulatory hurdles and it’s very similar to the U.S. market as far as its surgeon training and the reimbursement process. Also, one of our largest investors (GBS venture Partners) is based in Australia and we completed our first three clinical trials there.

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