The market for interventional devices designed to treat peripheral artery disease has long taken a backseat to the more high-profile interventional cardiology arena. However, with competitive and economic pressures now driving down prices and profits for coronary stents, manufacturers and investors alike are turning their attention to the still underpenetrated PAD opportunity, where device advancements are expanding the treatable patient population and could drive strong revenue growth in the years ahead.

While the debate continues about whether embolic protection devices are really necessary, the space continues to generate interest from investors, start-ups and large companies looking for new technologies. Despite the unfulfilled promise of the past decade, interest has spread to new interventional applications such as percutaneous heart valves, indicating that this area remains a viable opportunity for start-ups.

One of the most successful centers of medical device innovation, Israel is wrestling with that success and adopting new models to build on it. TriVentures, a new firm that is part incubator, part VC fund, is focusing on companies at the very earliest stages of development. At the other end of the spectrum, Ofer Hi-Tech is looking to roll up companies and create the next Kyphon.