Online summit shows Ireland leads the way in new medtech

Medtech is undoubtedly one of Ireland’s biggest success stories. We are now one of the top five global medtech hubs and home to up to 350 companies in the sector, including 14 of the world’s top 15 medtech companies.

We are also the largest medtech employer per capita in Europe, with 45,000 people employed in the sector. Our medtech industry exports over €13bn to over 100 countries every year, positioning Ireland as the second-largest exporter of medtech products in Europe.

Even more impressive is the strength of our indigenous medtech sector. Over 200 of those companies are Irish, and one in five of those working in the sector are employed directly by Irish-owned medtech companies. And these companies are doing well – in 2020, Enterprise Ireland life science clients achieved exports of €1.9bn.

Our success is down to a combination of track record and forward thinking, a deep pool of experience and highly trained talent, and a fertile ecosystem that integrates industry, research and the clinical community to promote high-quality innovation.

The incredible agility of our medtech industry came into sharp focus during the Covid pandemic, with numerous Irish companies reacting quickly to the crisis, delivering new innovations, pivoting their offerings, or ramping up production to supply essential devices to hospitals around the world.

Ireland is currently ranked fifth in the world for Covid-19 related goods, with companies such as, Aerogen, patientMPower and PMD Solutions leading the way in medtech innovation.

As we emerge from the pandemic, innovation in the industry continues at pace. Enterprise Ireland’s ‘Med in Ireland’ showcase – taking place virtually on November 3-4 – focuses on the future of healthcare, specifically examining how Irish innovation is transforming the sector in a post-Covid world.

A biennial event, ‘Med in Ireland’ is a high-profile national showcase for the entire spectrum of Irish medtech, encompassing medical devices, medical sub-supply, diagnostics, digital health, healthcare providers, clinicians and research professionals.

This year, 81 Irish manufacturing and healthcare solution providers will take part in the event, meeting with international healthcare buyers in a series of virtual one-to-one meetings arranged by Enterprise Ireland.

A special feature of the event is the innovation zone, where the startups of the future will be showcased, in addition to Ireland’s collaborative supports that drive company innovation.

The event kicks off this Wednesday, November 3, with a special conference featuring keynote speeches from a number of leaders in the global life sciences world, including Lorna Ross, chief innovation officer at VHI Health & Wellbeing. The speeches will be followed by a panel discussion on the future of global healthcare.

This year, ‘Med in Ireland’ focuses on a number of themes shaping the post-pandemic healthcare world.

These include industry shifts such as the move to preventative care, the role of digitalisation in the shift to healthcare outside of hospital settings, technologies that reduce environmental impact and improve competitiveness, and the development of new distribution and inventory management models to overcome supply-chain weaknesses.

At the forefront of this change are a number of highly innovative Irish firms, many of which are taking part in the ‘Med in Ireland’ event.

These include LetsGetChecked, a virtual care company that offers over 30 different at-home tests that act as an alternative to traditional in-person medical visits; Swiftqueue, a company offering a self-service portal that allows patients to manage medical appointments across multiple clinic settings; and Vitalograph, a global leader in respiratory diagnostics and clinical trials that offers remote monitoring of lung function and disorders.

With such innovative companies as these, it’s no wonder that ‘Med in Ireland’ attracts leading healthcare providers from all over the world, all of whom see Ireland as a trusted source of innovation. The showcase is ideal for these providers to access this innovation pipeline, and co-develop and commercialise new medical technologies with Irish innovation at its core.