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Irish healthcare sector
sets its sights on
increasing exports of
healthcare innovation to
the UAE and wider Middle
East
(Dubai, UAE) -
The Irish
healthcare sector sets its
sights on the UAE and wider
Middle East region to
greatly increase Irish
‘medtech’ innovation into
the region’s healthcare
sector. With an increase of
over 40% in Irish companies
participating at Arab Health
Exhibition this year
compared to 2020, it
demonstrates strong progress
in the momentum in the
region being achieved as
part of the reinvigorated
strategy by Enterprise
Ireland, the Irish
Government agency for trade
and innovation, to increase
the Irish healthcare exports
to the UAE and wider region.
Twenty leading Irish
medtech companies will be
participating at the Middle
East’s largest medical
industry event, Arab Health
Exhibition held in Dubai
which aims to attract over
56,000 healthcare
professionals looking for
the latest innovation across
the healthcare sector to
benefit patients in the
region. At the Exhibition.,
Enterprise Ireland will be
showcasing the breadth of
Irish leading healthcare
innovation on its ‘Ireland’
stand which already has a
packed booking for
healthcare practitioners
across the region keen to
connect with the Irish
delegation of healthcare
innovators.
Ireland
has forged a strong global
reputation in the healthcare
sector, especially with
leading innovation in
medtech that is being
adopted across the world. As
one of the leading digital
tech and medtech hubs in the
world, Ireland has delivered
an increased supply of
lifesaving equipment and new
innovations in the fight
against Covid-19 which has
positioned the country fifth
in the world for the global
exports of Covid 19-related
goods and services,
according to the OECD.
Medtech is one of
Ireland’s biggest success
stories. One of the top five
global medtech hubs, Ireland
is home to up to 350
companies in the sector,
including 14 of the world’s
top 15 medtech companies.
With 45,000 people employed
in the sector, they are the
largest medtech employer per
capita in Europe. The Irish
medtech industry exports to
over 100 countries every
year, worth over €13bn,
positioning Ireland as the
second-largest exporter of
medtech products in Europe.
Deirdre Glenn,
Director of Life Sciences at
Enterprise Ireland, said:
“Irish medtech
companies proved how agile
and flexible they were
during the pandemic. Our
focus has now turned to the
post-Covid world, and how
the pandemic has changed
healthcare, both in terms of
how we access it and in
terms of how it is
delivered. A lot of eyes are
on Irish innovators, some of
whom have already come up
with exciting solutions.”
“Ireland has long been a
leader in the medtech world.
Our success is down to a
combination of track record
and forward thinking and a
deep pool of experience and
highly trained talent. This
is boosted by a fertile
ecosystem that integrates
industry, research and the
clinical community to
promote high-quality
innovation.”
With
exports by Irish companies
to the UAE continuing to
grow – valued at €156m and
up 12 per cent in 2020 on
the previous year –
Enterprise Ireland serves to
bolster sales and
partnership deals for its
client companies and raise
the profile of Ireland as an
attractive trading partner,
offering competitive, high
quality and technologically
advanced products and
services.
Leading the Irish trade
agency’s participation at
Arab Health, Eamon Sikafi,
Senior Market Advisor at
Enterprise Ireland MENA,
said: “Irish
medtech plays a central role
in major industry shifts,
including the move to
preventative care,
digitalisation outside of
hospital settings, the
emergence of new
technologies, and the
development of new
distribution and inventory
management models.
Enterprise Ireland will
showcase the latest
healthcare solutions from 20
leading Irish medtech
companies at Arab Health,
with a focus on their
contribution to shaping the
post-pandemic healthcare
world.”
The Middle
East is an extremely
important market for Irish
company Aerogen, a global
market leader in medical
devices specialising in the
design, manufacture and
commercialisation of aerosol
drug delivery systems.
Having established a Middle
East commercial office in
Dubai in 2018, Aerogen has
grown from a team of two to
10 full-time staff based in
the region. In order to
further strengthen their
commitment over the coming
years, Aerogen announced
their partnership with Gulf
Medical in KSA. This
partnership will ensure that
all hospitals in the KSA
market will have access to
training and support on
Aerogen to ensure they can
continue to deliver superior
patient care.
Enterprise Ireland is
actively involved in the
healthcare market in Saudi
Arabia with many client
companies such as Fleming
Medical, working with local
partners to provide leading
healthcare and medtech
solutions into the market, a
process made easier due to
the large number of
Irish-trained, Saudi-based
health professionals and the
number of healthcare
decision makers who have
trained at the Royal College
of Surgeons in Ireland.
Dublin City University is
also actively involved in
the training of nurses in
Saudi Arabia.
Traditionally, Irish
co-operation was entirely
focused on medical
education, but in 2020,
Enterprise Ireland noted
increased engagement between
Saudi Arabia and its
healthcare sector focused
client companies due to the
Covid-19 pandemic. In data
captured by Ireland’s
Central Statistics Office,
overall Irish exports of
goods to Saudi Arabia grew
in 2020, primarily due to
increases of exports to
€163.4m in Medical and
Pharmaceutical Supplies.
During the Gulf trade
mission led by Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister for
Enterprise, Trade and
Employment Leo Varadkar TD
in December last year,
providers of vehicle
intelligence solutions for
support of Pre-Hospital Care
clients, ACETECH announced
the signing of a
multimillion-dollar contract
with Bassam Trading (BTC)
for a technology deal on
emergency vehicles in KSA.
ACETECH is a global
manufacturer of vehicle
intelligence for emergency
service fleets. Their
solutions include
cloud-based fleet management
software, specialist safety
and eco-friendly modules and
intelligent electronic
control units, that
integrate seamlessly with
emergency service vehicles
to boost their performance,
improve safety and
revolutionise the operation
of the fleet.
Irish medtech
companies at Arab Health
that are collaborating with
Middle East healthcare
providers for improved
healthcare capabilities:
- Deciphex:
For the UAE and MENA,
Deciphex enables both the
patient and the referring
institution/physician the
ability to refer to the top
level of pathology
sub-specialists without the
need to travel. Deciphex is
focused on the development
of software applications for
preclinical/toxicologic
pathology that improve
productivity and help
pathologists focus on the
critical content. Deciphex
recently launched its
clinical diagnostic service,
Diagnexia, that provides
on-demand access to remote
subspecialty pathologists
for primary diagnostics and
secondary consult services,
supporting the achievement
of turnaround time goals and
delivery of the highest
quality of patient care.
- Medical
Eguides Ltd.: MEG
is set to expand their
presence in the Middle East
with a new office in the
region, employing an
on-ground regional business
director and signing on new
partners and deals in Saudi
Arabia. MEG provides a suite
of applications that can
improve healthcare quality
through audit, feedback, and
reporting. It provides tools
on mobile and tablet devices
which provide real time
results and alerts. The
software also provides
training information and
guidelines to train staff at
the point of care. Using
this technology, audits are
more accurate, it saves time
and results are available
instantly allowing teams to
spend more time on improved
patient care, reducing
costs. MEG supports the
vision to deliver great care
for every patient every time
with an intuitive,
all-in-one digital quality
management system connecting
the key components of
governance for quality,
patient safety and
compliance in one place.
-
Mypatientspace:
myPatientSpace are currently
working in Europe, Middle
East, Israel, and the
Americas. myPatientSpace is
a leading innovative digital
health company, founded in
2017, powering connected
patient solutions for global
healthcare providers and
life sciences companies. Its
goal is to improve the
healthcare experience for
millions of patients
globally by connecting them
across their care journey.
myPatientSpace achieves this
by providing an innovative
no-code platform that allows
our customers to provide
personalized medical grade
digital companions for
patients. They help make
patient-centric care a
reality. myPatientSpace is
trusted by world leading
healthcare institutions and
today powers solutions in
disease awareness, pre- and
post-surgery care, chronic
disease management and
research trials in several
therapy areas: Sleep,
Oncology, Rheumatology,
Respiratory, Chronic Kidney
Disease, Orthopedics and
others.
-
Novaerus: In Q4
2021, Novaerus secured a new
channel partner in UAE and
Qatar. For over a decade,
Novaerus has been providing
medical-grade solutions that
address a global problem;
unhealthy indoor air. Led by
a dedicated and highly
skilled team of scientists,
the company took a
fundamentally different
approach to air
dis-infection, which led to
the transformational
discovery of NanoStrike –
the unique, patented
technology at the core of
all Novaerus portable air
dis-infection devices today.
This nanotechnology
inactivates all airborne
microorganisms on contact
providing the first line of
protection against viruses
and bacteria. Utilising
NanoStrike technology,
Novaerus devices help to
prevent the spread of
infection in thousands of
hospitals, senior living
facilities, IVF clinics,
dental offices, schools and
homes around the world.
- Scope
Healthcare: The
complete and innovative
ranges of eyecare, allergy,
and well-being products from
Scope are now available for
distribution in EMEA, APAC
and LATAM markets. Scope is
a healthcare and
pharmaceuticals company with
locations in Ireland, UK and
USA that provides healthcare
professionals and patients
with high quality, effective
and innovative products.
Ophthalmics Scope offers
innovative eyecare products
for AMD and ocular surface
diseases, such as dry eye
disease, blepharitis and
MGD. Healthcare Scope offers
a range of innovative
products to pharmacies and
health food stores, such as
Bio Kult probiotics, Vivio
Junior Multivitamin & Cough
Syrup, Vivimune Immunity
tonic, and many more.
- SureWash:
SureWash helps
hospitals within the GCC
earn the Joint Commission
International (JCI)
Standards 'Gold Seal of
Approval'. Seven of the JCI
goals are directly related
to SureWash features,
promoting quality and
patient safety. SureWash
revolutionises hand hygiene
training. The leading
technology delivers on-site
and remote training and
assessment to the World
Health Organization (WHO)
protocol. The validated
technology ensures training
and education is accessible
and convenient to help
reduce hospital acquired
infections and improve
patient outcomes. Training
and re-training is
accessible 24/7 for medical
professionals, patients, and
visitors. The system
encourages self-directed
learning and provides
objective, real-time
feedback on the user’s hand
hygiene technique during
training. Customisable
lessons and quizzes support
the practical training to
address gaps in knowledge
within a facility.
- Vitalograph:
Vitalograph recently signed
new distribution
partnerships in Kuwait and
Jordan, and have a pipeline
of projects and
collaborations in the UAE
set to be confirmed this
year. A global leader in
respiratory diagnostics,
Vitalograph manufacture and
supply high quality
spirometers and medical
devices which aid the
detection, diagnosis and
management of respiratory
conditions. Its products are
used in over 113 countries
by medical professionals in
healthcare and occupational
health settings. Vitalograph
have also delivered
successful clinical trials
for many of the world’s
leading pharmaceutical
companies, biotech and
contract research
organisations. Its product
range includes spirometers,
lung and asthma monitors,
COPD screeners, medical
workstations as well as
software and consumables.
- Solvotrin
Therapeutics:
Active Iron is clinically
proven to be significantly
better absorbed than the
gold standard ferrous
sulphate but uniquely avoids
the negative
gastrointestinal side
effects commonly associated
with oral iron. Active Iron
is available in 12 markets
worldwide, including the
UAE. Solvotrin Therapeutics
is an Irish healthcare
development company focused
on optimising established
therapies through innovative
science with patent
protection. Headquartered in
Cork, Ireland, Solvotrin has
a team of 20 people with the
R&D team members located at
Trinity College Dublin.
Driven by innovative
science, Solvotrin redesigns
essential medicinal and
healthcare products, making
them safer and more
effective. Solvotrin’s
approach has produced two
distinct patent-protected
platforms with applications
in a wide array of medical
settings. The first product
range developed and
successfully commercialised
is the Active platform
technology, led by a range
of innovative oral iron
products branded as Active
Iron.
“As we emerge
from the pandemic,
innovation in the industry
continues at pace. We are
moving into a world where
healthcare needs have
changed significantly and
medtech innovations are
needed more than ever
before. And once again,
Irish innovators are
responding quickly with some
great innovations,” Eamon
added.
Other
Enterprise Ireland client
companies showcasing
Ireland’s strength in the
medtech industry at Arab
Health include:
- Aerogen:
Aerogen is the world’s
leading medical device
company specialising in the
design, manufacture and
commercialisation of aerosol
drug delivery systems. Its
patented vibrating mesh
technology turns liquid
medication into a fine
particle mist, gently and
effectively delivering drugs
to the lungs of critically
ill patients. The company,
with a wealth of
international awards, has a
strong international
presence with offices in
Ireland, UK, Germany, United
States, Middle East, Asia
and India.
-
CF Pharma Ireland Ltd:
Cf Pharma is an ISO 13485
and HACCP accredited company
based in Ireland that
manufactures a range of
novel specific Health Food
Supplements, Medical Device
Formulations and Advanced
Topical Dermatological
Solutions for both the Human
and Animal Healthcare.
- Fleming
Medical Ltd:
Fleming Medical pride
themselves in having over 30
years’ experience in
developing and supplying of
medical devices, equipment,
diagnostics, consumables and
products to both the Irish
and international healthcare
and pharmacy industries.
Fleming Medical are
innovators and lead the way
in chronic health conditions
through the adaption of
wearable technology to
healthcare solutions.
Fleming along with NUIG,
RCSI & The Tyndall Institute
are developing Dermatrax,
the world’s first smart
wound care dressing whereby
a wound dressing will assess
the wound viability via
sensors that send the
information to an app for a
more accurate assessment
thus reducing wound care
costs and patient
discomfort.
- HealthSectorTalent:
HealthSectorTalent, also
known as HST, is an
award-winning healthcare
talent consultancy founded
on a culture that is
passionate about
transforming the way
healthcare providers, state
agencies and governments
manage the acquisition of
both clinical and
non-healthcare talent. From
creating and delivering
talent attraction strategies
to designing applicant flows
and providing outsourced
recruitment process
administration, its
customisable client-focused
talent acquisition solutions
support direct supply,
hybrid RPO and end-to-end
recruitment. By focusing on
the entire talent
acquisition ecosystem
including strategy,
processes, attraction and
candidate management, HST
deliver greater
predictability of supply and
a lower candidate
acquisition cost through a
partnership that goes beyond
simply filling a vacancy.
- HiberGene
Diagnostics Ltd:
HiberGene Diagnostics is a
Dublin-based, private Irish
company, that develops,
manufactures, and markets
molecular diagnostic tests
for the direct detection of
human infectious diseases,
using the LAMP (Loop
Mediated Isothermal
Amplication) technology. In
2020, HiberGene successfully
completed the CE marking of
a new fast molecular
COVID-19 test. Positive
results are returned within
a few hours, enabling rapid
diagnosis of the disease at
the early and highly
infectious stage of
infection. With its
expanding HG product line,
HiberGene is committed to
providing rapid and highly
accurate testing solutions,
which are cost effective and
simple to use. HG tests
address the unmet clinical
need for a rapid, highly
accurate and simple testing
solution, making them ideal
for use in a wide range of
clinical, near patient and
laboratory environments.
- Kersia:
Kersia is a global leader in
biosecurity and food safety
with value added products
and solutions to prevent
diseases or contamination in
both animals and humans at
every stage of the food
supply chain. The company
also offers solutions to the
healthcare sector. Kersia
operates in more than 120
countries with a workforce
of over 1,500 people and a
turnover of more than €300
million. With Kersia,
farmers, food processing
plants and retailers have
the most trusted partner
with the scientific and
field experience to
identify risks and deliver
innovative solutions.
- T-Pro:
T-Pro is a global leader in
clinical documentation
improvement software. Their
AI driven solutions enable
workflows for efficient and
accurate speech recognition,
medical transcription,
messaging, telehealth,
document distribution and
coding. T-Pro facilitates a
patient centred solution by
making it easy for doctors
to capture the patient
narrative, and by delivering
information when it is
needed most – at the point
of care. T-Pro’s technology
allows healthcare providers
to voice enable their
existing EPR, reduce
transcription costs,
outsource overflow tasks.
Over 500 Client
organisations and over
20,000 active users enjoy
the benefits of T-Pro
solutions today. Recently,
T-Pro accelerated AI
technology strategy for
healthcare with the
consolidation of Indian
service providers under
T-Pro Medical PVT.
- ACETECH:
A global supplier of
software and vehicle
solutions for the emergency
services market, Acetech
designs innovative
cloud-based fleet
performance software,
specialist modules for
safety, eco-friendliness and
asset protection, and
intelligent control systems
for healthcare providers and
government bodies. These
solutions integrate
seamlessly with emergency
service vehicles to help
them perform better.
ACETECH’s scalable
integrated solution helps
track all emergency vehicles
and assets, coaches safe and
productive driving, and
reduces fuel consumption.
- Empeal:
A health risk management
tool focused on prevention
and management of chronic
diseases, the Empeal
platform gathers medical,
nutrition, lifestyle,
behaviour data, personal
goals data from users
through interactive
questionnaires and
integrated technologies like
wearables for practitioners
to visualise early trend.
These data points are linked
using unique algorithms to
deliver highly personalised
nutrition and lifestyle
programmes. Empeal work with
RCSI's Centre for Positive
Health and Psychology and
are the technology partner
of CPL's Future of Work.
- Gasgon
Medical: Gasgon
Medical is an award-winning
start-up medical device
company, based in Cork,
Ireland, developing
innovative fluid management
products for the clinical
market. Gasgon tackles the
challenges of making IV
infusions better for
patients and clinicians. In
December 2021 the company
closed a seed round of €2m
to manufacture and launch
its premier device,
AirVault. The company was
recently awarded as overall
winner, with a prize of
€100,000, at Seedcorn, the
largest business competition
in Ireland.
-
Medfind Solutions:
Established in August 2015,
MSL Healthcare are active
across Irish hospitals and
retail pharmacies, focusing
on strong, value-added
products which make a real
difference to patients’
lives. With a combined
experience in the Irish
healthcare market of over 40
years, it aims to build a
quality offering that
empowers the physician to
make an informed decision
regarding their patient's
therapy. A further major
strength lies in their
ability to access key
customers, payers, and
stakeholders across all
Irish hospitals. Recently,
the company commenced the
trading of MedFind UK Ltd,
which can source and supply
UK products for export
markets as well as seeking
partners for supply of
unlicensed medicines to the
UK and Irish markets. They
also provide distribution
facilities to business
partners who wish to
establish new operations in
the UK and Ireland.
- O'Flynn Medical:
O’Flynn Medical is a
family-owned company
specialising in the supply
and rental of medical
equipment and service to the
HSE, care facilities and
private homes across
Ireland. Since its
establishment in 2002, it
has gone from being a small
maintenance company working
in the healthcare sector, to
a company who supply
specialist innovative
healthcare products across
Europe. Scrubex, its scrub
management system, has been
saving money, tightening
infection control procedures
and improving the
effectiveness of HSE
hospital laundries since its
introduction into the Irish
Health Service in 2008. Now,
it is also the preferred
solution in Acute Hospitals
in the UK and Germany. Its
Stryker high end, pressure
relieving products are
proving to be reliable,
clinically effective and
cost effective across all
areas of the Irish Health
Service. The innovative
O'Flynn Medical tablet
crushing system is now being
introducing into the UK
market.
Enterprise
Ireland is the Irish
Government’s trade and
innovation agency with 40
offices worldwide, including
in the UAE (Dubai and Abu
Dhabi) and Saudi Arabia
(Riyadh).
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