Navigating Sales to Hospitals: Inside the Buyer’s Mind
Breaking into hospitals is one of the hardest hurdles for medtech startups — but understanding how hospitals actually buy can change everything. In this interactive installment of H2i’s Investment Workshop series, you’ll hear directly from the people on the inside: lawyers who negotiate deals on both sides of the table, and a hospital procurement leader who evaluates new technologies every day.
They’ll pull back the curtain on how purchasing decisions really get made, what makes a startup credible to hospital buyers, and how to move from pilot to paid deployment.
Come ready to ask questions, share challenges, and leave with strategies you can put to work immediately.
Key Takeaways for Founders
Shorten your sales cycle: Walk away with practical tips to accelerate procurement timelines and close more efficiently.
See through the buyer’s lens: Understand how hospitals assess new technologies and what it takes to get a “yes.”
Contract smarter: Learn what slows deals down (and how to avoid it) from lawyers who work with both hospitals and startups.
Build trust faster: Discover how to signal credibility, navigate risk concerns, and turn pilots into long-term partnerships.
Agenda
- 12:00 – 12:10 | Opening remarks and panelist introductions
- 12:10 – 12:55 | Panel discussion
- Eileen McMahon, Chair of the IP and Food and Drug Regulatory Practice, Partner at Torys LLP (Moderator)
- Martin (Marty) Putyra, Director, Corporate Legal Services, The Hospital for Sick Children
- Nick Dimovski, Director, Supply Chain, The Hospital for Sick Children
- Teresa Reguly, IP and Food and Drug Regulatory, Partner at Torys LLP
- Thomas Yeo, Head of Procurement, Partner at Torys LLP
- 12:55 – 1:30 | Audience Q&A Session
Meet the panelists
Eileen McMahon | Chair of the IP and Food and Drug Regulatory Practice, Partner at Torys LLP
Working with entrepreneurs and innovators for over 30 years, Eileen is Chair of Torys’ Intellectual Property and Food and Drug Regulatory practices. She advises small- and medium-sized enterprises, leading manufacturers and innovators as well as Fortune 500 companies on complex intellectual property and regulatory issues. She is recognized as Canada’s leading life sciences lawyer, with deep market insight and a practical, business-minded approach.
Eileen is a co-founder of the intellectual property and food and drug regulatory practices at Torys. She represents the entire spectrum of companies on regulatory clearance and intellectual property protection of products. Across sectors—including life sciences (pharmaceuticals, medical devices, medtech, natural health products), agribusiness, consumer products and more—Eileen helps clients identify, protect and leverage IP and regulatory assets, obtain and maintain market exclusivity, handle high-risk situations (corrective actions, recalls, inspections, regulatory orders), and navigate the impact of current and proposed laws on clients’ ability to sell products. Eileen has market-leading experience with patented medicines and oversight of Canada’s Patented Medicines Prices Review Board (PMPRB). Eileen also represents investors and companies looking to finance or invest in companies with intellectual property and regulatory assets, as well as companies looking to acquire or divest such assets.
Eileen’s unique experience and strong market presence are well recognized: in addition to her Band 1 ranking in Intellectual Property by Chambers & Partners, Eileen is the only Canadian lawyer to be recognized as a Star Individual in Life Sciences. Managing IP regards her as one of the world’s top 250 women in IP, and The Legal 500 recognizes her as one of Canada’s leading lawyers in intellectual property. Eileen was recently recognized as a “Hall of Fame Lawyer” for receiving “constant praise from her clients for continued excellence” and identified as being “at the pinnacle of the profession”, in the 2024 edition of The Legal 500 Canada. Best Lawyers in Canada recognized Eileen as Lawyer of the Year in Biotechnology and Life Science for 2024.
Eileen is a registered patent and trademark agent in the United States and Canada. She is also a Certified Licensing Professional of the Licensing Executive Society (LES). Eileen is a former member of Torys’ Executive Committee.
Martin (Marty) Putyra | Director, Corporate Legal Services, The Hospital for Sick Children
Marty Putyra is a corporate, commercial, and regulatory lawyer who leads the Corporate Legal Services team at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). Before joining SickKids, Marty practiced law at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, where he advised a broad range of clients across the health and technology sectors, including hospitals, digital health providers, long-term care and retirement operators, pharmaceutical and medical device companies, not-for-profits, and registered charities.
To be updated.
Thomas Yeo | Head of Procurement, Partner at Torys LLP
Thomas Yeo’s practice focuses on corporate/commercial law, with an emphasis on advising governments, Crown corporations and major pension plans on a variety of matters, including corporate governance and procurement law. Tom is Head of the firm’s Procurement practice group and advises on all aspects of the procurement process, including the development of RFIs, RFQs, RFPs and NRFPs, evaluation procedures and plans and standard procurement policies and templates. Thomas also regularly advises companies responding to procurement opportunities by helping them understand the legal framework of procurements and their rights and obligations.
Teresa Reguly | IP and Food and Drug Regulatory & Partner at Torys LLP
Teresa is a partner in Torys’ intellectual property and life sciences groups. As a scientist and lawyer, Teresa provides ventures with holistic support as they build and sell regulated products in the chemical, biochemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. Her extensive experience supporting entrepreneurs across the complex challenges they face has resulted in her repeatedly being named a Leading Lawyer in Life Sciences (2019-2025), a Leading Partner in IP (2021-2025), one of the Worlds Leading Patent Practitioners (2021-2025) and a Leading Lawyer in Health Care Law (2023-2025).
This award-winning advice encompasses the full spectrum of IP, regulatory, privacy and commercialization issues that ventures face, in addition to the impact of technological changes, such as the development and utilization of AI, on the life sciences industry.
Teresa is a member of the Toronto Intellectual Property Group, the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (and its EDI and CPD Committees), the Intellectual Property Owners Association (and its Canadian Practice and Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Issues Committees) and the American Intellectual Property Law Association. She is also a member of the Food and Drug Law Institute (and its Medical Products Committee).