The work developed during Phase 1 is the following:
1. A comprehensive analysis of the regulation. This analysis addressed the search for standards and regulations that will be required in order to ensure the CE Marking of the dental implant as a medical device. Furthermore, the completion of all preclinical tests at the same time as this feasibility study was considered convenient in order to minimize risks. On the other hand, the first steps of the integration of sol-gel process in plant were done. This first integration allowed a small-scale production with an acceptable level of quality.
2. A market analysis to reinforce the knowledge about the new markets where the company envisages its introduction. To this purpose, surveys were conducted among our current distributor network, including as many final customers (dentists) as possible, in order to present the new product and assess the level of acceptance, ensuring that the estimated impact for the company is aligned with reality. Moreover, we carried out an analysis of both possible competitors and distributors for new agreements.
3. From the information obtained during the previous activities, the marketing and commercialisation strategy was defined in order to reach those markets defined as targets with our new product, especially European markets.
4. A detailed operational plan was defined once the business objectives were set. In this stage we have analysed both the new resources of operational structure needed, and the investment requirements to suit the production capacity.
5. A financial plan was developed to analyse the financial feasibility of the present project. We have exhaustively calculated the required investment for both the initial development and the production capacity adaptation of the company to the commercial objectives of the new product throughout time.
