While emerging markets offer great potential for growth and expansion for med-tech companies, it’s a complicated move and may not be suitable for small player. This was the word of caution of a panel of large-cap CEOs at the OneMed conference held in San Francisco. 

"Of course it's attractive, especially if you think about a place like China – their interest in technology is tremendous," said Michael Mussallem, chief of Edwards Lifesciences. "But we know from our own experience, you don't go walking in with two Americans and go and capture all the business in China. It just doesn't work that way. To try and build loyalty and build real value."

Mussallem suggested that smaller companies need to “stay a little closer to home" and leave emerging markets to companies with the resources to play the long game. Nearly two-thirds of Edwards' sales now come from outside the U.S., where the company's products are slowly becoming more mainstream, he revealed. 

The panel generally agreed that emerging markets are vital for device makers, with Covidien plc CEO Joe Almeida comparing them to 401(k) retirement programs in the U.S. "You can't afford not to play," Almeida said, but warned that, even for industry giants, the game is more complicated than it seems.

"We all talk about emerging markets – and emerging markets are a great attraction – but you've got to know where you're going to play," Almeida said. "Being global doesn't mean you're going to be all over the place."

CEO of Becton Dickinson & Co, Vincent Forlenza, has included a global outlook in the company's mission statement. “Our purpose is to help all people live healthier lives, and that 'all' is really important to us. So we're really thinking globally when we talk about how we're going to impact health care," he said, adding that more than half of Becton Dickinson's sales come from outside the U.S. 

Mediated by David Lucchino, co-founder of Cambridge, Mass.-based startup Semprus Biosciences, the OneMed forum in San Francisco was part of an ongoing series of "CEO Unplugged" events planned for the upcoming AdvaMed 2012 conference in Boston.