For innovators in the medical device industry, the otolaryngology or ENT (ear, nose, and throat) specialty offers just about everything that investors look for these days. Profiles of Aerin Medical, Spirox, Fiagon AG Medical, and ENTvantage Diagnostics.

The ear, nose, and throat market now boasts several large device manufacturers that see possibilities in this space for innovative new minimally invasive products. Such competition is the ideal landscape for innovation, as the large companies battle for market share, while start-up firms and VCs see opportunities to take the market in new directions.

Competition breeds innovation, and the ear, nose, and throat (ENT) market, once a fairly quiet arena, is now positioned to host some spirited activity that should lead to new technologies. Several large device manufacturers have recently moved into the ENT space, and the sinus treatment segment of the market has become one of the focal points for emerging competitors, as companies work toward less-invasive treatment options.