New Invitation Only Healthcare Innovation Series’ Inaugural Dental Forum Draws 25+ Key Opinion Leaders and Six Breakthrough Companies at Las Vegas Debut
The Maw Group and Desert Health Partners successfully launched The HIT List, a new invitation only healthcare innovation forum designed to connect emerging healthcare technology companies with the clinicians, operators, and strategic partners who can accelerate their path to market. The inaugural event, focused on the dental sector, was held May 27, 2026, at Blackfire Innovation in Las Vegas.
The debut gathering brought together more than 25 dental key opinion leaders (KOLs) for an intimate, high signal evening featuring presentations from six pioneering companies: H7 Technologies, Henley Ion, Ventis Pharma, Endo Logic, Lucent, and Osteogene. Attendees received early access to differentiated technologies and engaged directly with founders through structured feedback sessions and commercialization discussions.
A central highlight was the participation of Dr. James Mah, DDS, MSc, DMSc, a globally recognized orthodontist, tenured clinical professor at UNLV, and one of the most cited researchers in his field. Dr. Mah has advised leading companies including 3M, Straumann, and AbbVie, and his presence underscored the expert driven mission of The HIT List.
“One of the greatest challenges facing healthcare innovation is obtaining meaningful clinical feedback early in the commercialization process,” said Dr. James Mah. “The HIT List creates an environment where innovators can engage directly with experienced clinicians and receive insights that shape future development and adoption.”
“Innovation often struggles not because of a lack of good ideas, but because founders lack access to the right people at the right time,” said Diego Trujillo, Co Founder of Desert Health Partners. “The HIT List was created to bridge that gap.”
A Critical Moment for Healthcare Innovation
Healthcare technology is experiencing unprecedented early stage activity, yet the path from promising concept to clinical adoption remains slow and costly. A persistent barrier is the lack of structured, high quality clinical feedback at the earliest stages of development.
The HIT List is designed to close this gap by giving founders direct, recurring access to seasoned clinicians who can help refine products, anticipate adoption barriers, and build the credibility required by payers, strategics, and acquirers.
About The HIT List
The HIT List is built on a simple premise: the right relationships, formed at the right time, accelerate commercialization more than any other factor. Unlike traditional conferences, every attendee is personally selected to ensure a high density of relevant expertise and productive dialogue.
Each event features:
- Live presentations from emerging healthcare technology companies
- Structured KOL feedback sessions
- High value networking with operators, capital partners, and clinical leaders
The series will expand across multiple healthcare verticals – including orthopedics, cardiovascular, oncology, and digital health – and into additional U.S. markets.
Future Vision
The Maw Group and Desert Health Partners aim to build The HIT List into a national platform that shortens the time between breakthrough ideas and patient impact. Future editions will deepen clinical feedback components, introduce structured follow on programming, and explore cohort based advisory models that support innovators throughout their commercialization journey.
About the Organizers
The Maw Group is a strategic advisory consortium uniting clinical research, regulatory strategy, marketing, and M&A expertise to accelerate healthcare innovation from early traction through market leadership.
Desert Health Partners helps early growth healthcare solutions commercialize faster by opening doors, sharpening product positioning, and providing hands on go to market execution support.
