Clinical validation is not product-market fit
The problem I keep seeing
Regulatory approval, clinical evidence, investor enthusiasm? None of these guarantee that a technology will actually be adopted. They're supply-side signals. They tell you something works. They don't tell you whether anyone will use it, pay for it, or procure it.
Most health innovators don't think about this until the product is built and the funding is spent.
This is the problem I work on. Understanding where the buyers are - the demand side - to bridge the gap between a good idea and real world use.
Who I work with
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Investors & funders
You're backing health innovation but your portfolio companies are stalling post-investment. The clinical story is strong but adoption isn't happening. I help you assess demand-side and adoption risk, as part of DD or for your existing portfolio, including whether the company's milestones align with realistic exit pathways.
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Healthtech companies
You're designing from the supply side, focused on the technology, the evidence, the regulatory pathway. But are you pressure-testing whether your route to market actually exists? I help you see your product from the buyer's perspective, and identify adoption barriers early so you can do something about them.
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Accelerators & innovation programmes
You're supporting health innovators but most of your cohort won't achieve meaningful traction. I help you build demand-side thinking into your programmes so founders face the hard questions early. Adoption thinking should be embedded from the beginning.
What I do
I work across investment, adoption and exit in health innovation. Different clients, same underlying principle: it's essential to understand the buyer's perspective.
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It's important to say what I don't do. I don't help you sell to the NHS. I don't write business cases, run procurement processes, or manage implementation. There are other good people who do that. I work upstream, helping you understand whether the thing you're building has a realistic path to adoption or acquisition before you spend two years finding out it doesn't.
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Adoption Risk Assessment
An independent, demand-side assessment of whether a health innovation is likely to be used, purchased, and ultimately acquired. Using a proprietary framework, I assess companies across 11 dimensions grouped under four lenses: demand, competition, adoption barriers, and acquirer landscape. Commissioned by companies looking to understand their own adoption risk, or by investors and acquirers as part of due diligence on a target.
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Buyer Landscape Mapping
A structured analysis of who would realistically acquire your company, what they look for, what comparable transactions tell us, and how different buyers would integrate you. For health and life sciences companies considering a sale in the next one to three years, or for investors who want to understand the exit landscape around a portfolio company.
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Sale and Investment Readiness
Whether you are raising your next round or preparing for exit, I help you see your company the way a buyer or investor will. Available as a short assessment or as ongoing advisory, covering positioning, commercial story, deal mechanics, and what needs to be true before you go to market. Informed by 40+ M&A transactions across buy-side and sell-side.
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Speaking, Writing and Research
I speak, write and contribute to research on health innovation adoption, patient experience, diabetes research and innovation, and early-stage health investing.
What I bring
I sit at the intersection of four worlds that almost never talk to each other. The common thread? Whether you're selling a product to the NHS, a company to an acquirer, or an investment case to a funder, you have to understand what the buyer actually needs to say yes.
Commercial strategy
20+ years in investment banking, private equity-backed businesses and M&A advisory. 40+ acquisitions. I understand deal mechanics, what makes a company investable, and how buyers think.
Health system reality
Former board member and finance committee chair of major NHS commissioning body. I've seen how commissioning and funding decisions are made.
Patient experience
19 years using diabetes technology daily. I know what it looks like when technology meets ordinary routines, competing priorities, and limited attention.
Academic research
Honorary Professor at University of Exeter Faculty of Health & Life Sciences. Co-author of international clinical guidelines. PPI lead on numerous diabetes research projects.
Interested in how I could help you?
The fastest way to find out if I can help is a 20-minute call. No pitch, no obligation, just a conversation about what you're working on and whether my experience could help. You can email me at michelle@michelle-law.co.uk or find me on LinkedIn.