Evolve UK – Offshore Wind Industry webinar

 

This Offshore Wind industry webinar provides an update on:

  • CfD round 3 capacity auction

  • Information on the upcoming CfD round 4 auction

  • UK offshore wind project pipeline

  • Supply chain developments

  • Impact of Covid-19 on the offshore wind industry and its supply chain

serosep

Serosep helps to speed up results

In a pandemic, time is of the essence. A new diagnostic cuts 25% off testing times.

Serosep, a leading manufacturer of laboratory diagnostic products, has developed a new weapon to help in the global fight against Covid-19.

The Limerick, Ireland headquartered company is set to launch a molecular diagnostic testing product which reduces the time it currently takes to identify the presence of the virus from four hours to less than 3 hours.

The product, RespiBio, detects Covid-19 from nasopharyngeal and throat swabs. Aimed at medium to high-throughput clinical laboratories, it uses novel, efficient, molecular diagnostics techniques.

What makes RespiBio unique is that, unlike competitor products, it does away with the need for traditional RNA (ribonucleic acid) extraction practices.

“Many competitor products require RNA extraction prior to testing. This step alone can add one and a half to two hours to many of the current test systems on the market,” says Serosep founder and chief executive Dermot Scanlon. 

Currently it takes several hours to process a molecular based test, with the RNA extraction step alone adding anything from 1.5 to 2 hours.

“The benefit of our test product is that we do not have an RNA extraction step.  Our method of RNA extraction is already built into the RespiBio test”, he explains. The new diagnostic is based on the success of an existing diagnostic created by Serosep, called EntericBio.

“We launched our new innovative molecular diagnostic test, EntericBio, in the end of 2012,” he explains. “This test detects multi pathogenic bacteria, viruses and parasites from patients suffering gastroenteritis. It also detects gastrointestinal multidrug-resistant bacteria.”

 

Market Leader

EntericBio was the first commercial product in the world to detect faecal pathogens within three hours and quickly became a market leader in a number of countries.

“Currently in eight out of every 10 samples tested for gastroenteritis in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales, EntericBio is the test method of choice used by laboratories,” he says.

“In the UK four out of every 10 samples use EntericBio. The product is used in Belgium, Scandinavia, Israel, Kuwait, New Zealand and South Africa. In June 2019 EntericBio received US FDA (Food and Drugs Administration) approval for sale there.” says Scanlon. 

Its success is attributable to the fact that the test is “designed by microbiologists, for microbiologists,” he says.  “Our target market consists of high throughput laboratories which want to get results within a few hours.”

The success of EntericBio led to an expansion if Serosep’s workforce, which currently consists of 70 people in Limerick and a further 10 in the UK. The company, which was established in 1997, invests heavily in in-house research, development and innovation.

“We are somewhat unique in that we research and develop, design, manufacture and market our own products, and we partner with other companies for hardware and software solutions,” he explains.

The strength of its in-house capabilities enabled it to adapt the technology behind EntericBio to develop RespiBio, which now has the capacity to be a major weapon in the global arsenal against the spread of Covid-19.

“Already thousands of tests of our flagship product EntericBio take place daily, with several million conducted around the world to date. RespiBio is based on the same platform technology and offers the exact same uniqueness as EntericBio in relation to RNA extraction – that is, it does away with the traditionally cumbersome first step. In a pandemic situation, what we need is to speed up tests,” he says.

The innovation is not to be confused with the vaunted “rapid testing kits” we hear so much about in the media.

Rather, “RespiBio is a gold standard test that adheres to very stringent guidelines. It has been developed to provide really high sensitivity testing for use in hospital laboratories and big screening laboratories,” he explains.

As well as being highly effective, RespiBio is easy to use. “We already have this technology out in the field, thanks to EntericBio, so clinical laboratories and hospitals already have the equipment and are already trained how to use it. Using it for RespiBio is as simple as flicking on a switch.”

The team at Serosep is currently working around the clock to play its part in the fight against Covid-19. RespiBio is set to undergo clinical trials and, he predicts, will be available from mid-April 2020.

“We have always said we would never let our customers down,” says Scanlon.  “The company’s policy of building significant stock of it’s flagship product EntericBio  has always been expensive to do but it is paying off now because we are in a position to switch production to RespiBio with no affect in supply to our existing users”

Washing hands SureWash

Sing happy birthday to stay safe with SureWash

Irish app SureWash provides us with a safe pair of hands

All over Ireland people are singing happy birthday while they wash their hands. Then they sing it again. It’s because Irish healthcare technology company SureWash has provided people with a quick rule of thumb – and finger. If you want to make sure you wash your hands properly, spend as long doing it as it takes to sing the birthday song.

It’s a fun way to deliver a serious message, which perfectly reflects the healthcare technology company’s overall approach.

 

Stopping the spread of Covid-19

Throughout the emergency, leaders across the world have stressed that the primary tool we have at all our disposal in the fight against Covid-19 is the ability to wash our hands. Slowing down the virus’ spread depends on how often, and how well, we do it.

If hand hygiene is done properly it can be over 90% effective in preventing the spread of harmful germs, yet a large number of people are unaware that they are not washing their hands correctly.

SureWash is an augmented reality hand washing app developed in Ireland to provide proper hand hygiene training to healthcare workers, patients and visitors worldwide.

Developed by health professionals, the app ensures compliance in hand hygiene to World Health Organisation protocol. It delivers training in an engaging manner that encourages participation. It uses gamefication to generate enthusiasm and provides real-time feedback, to help users improve their technique.

The software system also provides infection control personnel with the data necessary to monitor hand hygiene progress and to guarantee positive results.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic SureWash has launched its app to the general public, so that everyone can play their part in stemming community transmission.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), everyone should regularly and thoroughly clean their hands with soap and water, or if that is not available, an alcohol-based hand rub, in order to kill viruses that may be on your hands and protect against infection.

In consideration of the number of shared surfaces that we touch on a daily basis, our hands although not visibly dirty, can still be contaminated.

A large number of people are unaware that they are not washing their hands correctly however, missing key surfaces such as thumbs and finger tips.

Cleaning your hands is vital, not least because not touching your face, the other main piece of advice we receive in relation to Covid-19, is hard to do. Studies show the average human touches their face around 23 times per hour.

The chance of infection substantially increases if we are touching our faces with contaminated hands.

SureWash’s 6-step technique helps users to develop a life-long skill. The consumer version of the SureWash Hand Hygiene APP is available to download on both the Apple and is a replica of the SureWash kiosks that are already in use in hundreds of hospitals around the world. Altogether now…..

Aalto Bio

The race is on at Aalto Bio

Irish biotech company Aalto Bio has announced the availability of a new protein to test and diagnose the novel Coronovarius. It is now available for diagnostic test manufacturers, vaccine developers, and researchers globally, for use in the fight against Covid-19.

The company’s new recombinant SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (code CK 6404) will, it hopes, be of critical importance in stemming the current pandemic.

SARS-CoV-2, or COVID-19 as it is also known, was declared a Public Health Emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO), due to the unprecedented international spread of the disease. All coronaviruses are enveloped positive-sense RNA viruses that affect many species and have the potential to cause pandemic disease outbreaks.

All viruses have Nucleocapsid (N), Spike (S), Envelope (E) and Membrane (M) structural proteins and some also encode a hemagglutinin–esterase (HE) protein.

The nucleocapsid protein plays a fundamental role during virion assembly – a late stage part of the viral life cycle – through its interactions with the viral genome and membrane protein M. It also has an essential role in enhancing the efficiency of subgenomic viral RNA transcription, as well as viral replication.

“Patients are currently being screened for the virus by PCR (polymerase chain reaction)”, explained Philip Noone, CEO of Aalto Bio Reagents, “however there is an important need for serological tests as well to detect all those mild or even asymptomatic cases that may otherwise be missed.”

“Patients are currently being screened for the virus by PCR (polymerase chain reaction), however there is an important need for serological tests as well to detect all those mild or even asymptomatic cases that may otherwise be missed.” explained Noone

The prevalence of these asymptomatic cases can lead to a rise in community transmission of a disease, simply because, without symptoms, carriers don’t realise they have it. “Sero-epidemiologic investigations, such as those aimed to better understand transmission characteristics and severity of COVID-19, are also essential,” he said.

“The medical field and diagnostic industry has an unrelenting requirement for access to the most scientifically proven raw materials in outbreak situations like this, where fast diagnosis is required. With our new SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein we endeavour to meet this urgent demand”.

The company has a long track record in helping to fight infectious disease, having been founded in 1978 to supply raw materials to the global diagnostics industry.

Today it produces more than 300 different reagents which are used to diagnose a huge range of diseases around the world, including serious tropical viruses such as dengue, yellow fever and zika virus.

As such the award winning innovator is firmly established as a leading manufacturer and provider of raw materials to the in-vitro diagnostics industry and research laboratories globally.

It supplies the largest multinational companies in the industry with a broad range of purified human proteins, monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies, fungal, parasitic, bacterial and viral antigens as well as disease state plasma for in-vitro diagnostic applications.

“We have two main types of customers, the high-tech diagnostic company and the companies who are creating vaccines to treat emerging diseases,” Noone told Enterprise Ireland. “With any of these diseases, there is a race to find a vaccine.”

remote working

9 innovations in the era of remote working

While the way we work has been evolving significantly in recent years, the Covid-19 crisis has accelerated the need for many people to work remotely. And during this seismic global shift, Irish talent technology is helping thousands of employees and employers to transition from working at their office desks to their kitchen tables.

Ireland’s progressive, globalised tech sector has cultivated a particularly innovative group of talent technology companies. Their smart, disruptive products and services are enabling companies around the world to attract, engage, manage, and retain their workforce in these uncertain times.

 

Supporting employees

While remote working had become common in certain sectors, especially those in which skilled talent is in high demand, it’s new for many companies. They need to quickly implement new technology to ensure their employees can adapt and continue to be productive while working from home.

Talent tech is enabling home-based employees to engage with colleagues, maintain their wellbeing while in a new routine, and upskill at home through online courses.

 

Benefitting employers

Meanwhile, employers can use Irish-built tech stay in operation, keep their workforce engaged, and manage, schedule, and pay their employees while the latter work remotely.

While some industries will see temporary workforce reductions, those such as health, retail and other frontline industries will need to hire more people fast. Talent tech can provide them with remote technology for sourcing and interviewing potential employees.

 

How Irish talent tech firms can help

These nine Irish companies offer disruptive technologies businesses can use to manage how employees work as they navigate these turbulent times.

1. Wellola

With healthcare systems under huge pressure due to coronavirus, optimising care capacity is crucial. Wellola has collaborated with the Irish public health services provider, the Health Service Executive (HSE), to launch a new online portal that enables GP and healthcare providers to treat people remotely so as to protect themselves from Covid-19.

2. Abodoo

As the world turns to remote working, Abodoo is there to connect global citizens with remote jobs. With 23,000 members across more than 60 countries, Abodoo’s SaaS platform uses smart matching technology powered by data analytics to match people to roles. This means companies can build highly scalable distributed teams quickly and cost-effectively.

3. Sonru

With in-person interviews on hold for now, recruiters must turn to virtual solutions. Sonru is an award-winning global leader in asynchronous video interviewing, which gives both candidates and interviewers flexibility. Importantly, it also removes pain points such as interview scheduling, time zone restrictions, dispersed hiring teams, and time lost on no shows.

4. Peptalk

To thrive and survive, companies need to promote a high performance culture. PepTalk is a workplace wellbeing platform that drives team engagement, productivity and connection across organisations in a fun way. Peptalk’s ‘whole person performance’ approach unlocks employee potential, helps companies to reimagine their work cultures and delivers bottom-line results.

5. Workvivo

During times of crisis, internal communications are critical for engaging and reassuring employees. With the Workvivo internal comms platform, employees can read and post content to an activity feed, and like, share and comment as they would on non-work social media. They can also recognise others through shoutouts, link posts to company goals and values, create community spaces, and publish articles and events.

6. FlexTime

Especially now, employers need to be able to manage flexible working arrangements and the changing needs of their employees. FlexTime offers flexible working, time and attendance, and scheduling solutions. Its products, which eliminate the need for manual tracking, are used by over 400 customers, in more than 5,000 implementations for over 200,000 users.

7. PulseLearning

Now more than ever, it’s vital to protect employee mental health and wellbeing, and promote self-care. PulseLearning, an award-winning, global top 10 learning company founded in 1999, developed the I Am Here programme to facilitate a cultural change within organisations so team members know it’s absolutely OK to ask for help and how they can.

8. Flexiwage

Managing finances can be challenging at the best of times. Flexiwage, which integrates with existing payroll packages, empowers employees and employers to make smarter financial decisions. Employees gain a fully flexible pay schedule, getting paid when it’s best for them, while employers can consolidate payroll, reduce costs and promote financial responsibility.

9. LearnUpon

It’s still vital for employees to learn and train while they work remotely. LearnUpon is a powerful learning management system (LMS) platform with a practical approach. Organisations can use it to manage, track, and achieve their learning goals. Trusted by over 1,000 customers worldwide, LearnUpon is one of the fastest growing LMSs in the world.

Aerogen

Irish aerosol drug delivery firm rises to global Covid-19 need

Given the numbers of people globally who need and will need care to recover from Covid-19 infection, one Irish medical device firm says it may double the number of units it ships this year.

Before the current coronavirus crisis, Aerogen already provided hospitals in more than 75 countries with its world-leading aerosol drug delivery products, benefitting 10 million patients.

Aerogen CEO John Power expects the company could ship 3m or 4m units in 2020, however, up from 2m in 2019. It is also investigating how to address the global ventilator shortage by adapting non-invasive ventilation systems.

 

Soaring global demand 

Aerogen can be a standalone unit or built into ventilators. It not only provides an efficient and effective way to deliver drugs to patients, but its closed-circuit system means the ventilation circuit does not need to be broken for drug delivery. This means there is a lower risk of patients transmitting Covid-19 to healthcare professionals.

The company saw an initial spike in requests earlier this year from China, where it had already been working with local ventilator company Mindray before the current crisis. “Then we started seeing an uptick in business coming through them early in 2020,” said Power.

“Then the wave of demand started coming across the world. In the past few weeks, we started seeing big orders come through from Italy, Germany, Spain and the UK, and demand has skyrocketed from the US in the past week. That really shows the recent change in awareness in America,” said Power.

 

Fairly balancing distribution

Power and his team are striving to ensure they can meet the sudden and unprecedented growth in demand. “We are a global company and we are balancing demand from across the world.

“We are asking customers and distributors to check at the hospital level if their demand is realistic and represents what they need now or if their order could be phased over a number of weeks. We are trying to proportion out our systems so we can give them to all our distributors and OEM partners.”

 

Ensuring smooth supply chains

Almost all of Aerogen’s products are manufactured and assembled in Ireland, primarily at M&M Qualtech in Galway and Molex in Shannon who assemble their high volume Solo nebuliser.

Aerogen has been growing sales at a CAGR of 30% per year since 2010 and Power explains that in response to the current outbreak its working together with its key suppliers to now ramp production by 50%+ in an effort to try and meet the unprecedented global demand for Aerogen’s product. Redeploying staff, adding additional shifts and production lines with more capacity to be added over time. Their component suppliers are also being asked to prioritise production to ensure round-the-clock manufacturing can ensue.

 

Further Covid-19 solutions

While patients with less severe respiratory issues can typically be put on non-invasive ventilators, such as face masks or nasal cannulas, doctors are concerned that using these could contaminate the air with coronavirus. Patients end up being intubated, possibly even when it’s not necessary, placing huge strains on intensive care units. Aerogen is working with hospital and academic partners to adapt non-invasive vents and make them safe for Covid-19 treatment.

This would also ensure that people with other respiratory conditions such as severe asthma or COPD could still access the aerosol drug delivery they have come to rely on, he adds.

 

About Aerogen

Aerogen has long been recognised globally as a pioneer in high-performance nebulisation and a world leader in aerosol drug delivery through ICU ventilators. John was named the European Entrepreneur of the Year in 2016 and Aerogen has received the Zenith Award, the highest award granted by the American Association of Respiratory Care, six times between 2013 and 2019.

Not only do Aerogen units ensure efficient drug delivery to patients on ventilators, but also their in-line circuit design means they carry a lower risk of Covid-19 transmission from patients to health care professionals than traditional nebulisers. Furthermore, the medication reservoir is isolated from the breathing circuit, minimising nebulisation of contaminated fluids.

Recent UK government guidelines state that when treating respiratory patients a closed suctioning system must be used, and that ventilator circuits should not be broken unless necessary.

Sonia Neary Wellola

Wellola: Tailored and secure patient portals for healthcare providers

Responding to the urgent needs generated by the Covid-19 crisis, one Irish firm is providing tailored and secure patient portals to healthcare providers.

Wellola builds practice management software for both enterprise and small business clients. It has just launched a secure patient communication portal for the Health Service Executive (HSE), which provides all of Ireland’s public health services, to enable it to manage its response to Covid-19.

The software firm is also fielding queries from providers in other European countries eager to optimise their response to the crisis.

 

What is the HSE Covid-19 portal?

The HSE Covid-19 portal is a simple digital tool that enables Irish family doctors (known as general practitioners or GPs) and primary care providers to keep people well and treat those who are unwell, in the community if possible. It also aims to protect front-line medical practitioners from unnecessary exposure to coronavirus.

“We developed the portal as GPs in particular wanted to mitigate their risk and see people remotely if possible,” says Sonia Neary, co-founder and CEO of Wellola.

“Furthermore, they were aware that many GPs may need to self-isolate after potential exposure to Covid-19, placing an already-pressurised system under additional strain.

“With the portal, those GPs confined at home can connect to it, access all patient  information securely and continue to care for patients. The portal offers video consultations, but also includes other functionality that facilitates secure patient care,” she adds.

 

What are its key features?

Irish GPs and primary care providers can set up an account in the portal to offer their patients services such as:

  • Online booking
  • Video consultation software (in app, text or email)
  • Secure messaging
  • Form completion to help with triaging
  • Sharing information and resources
  • Payment functionalities (e-Invoicing, payment in video-screen etc)
  • e-Prescriptions (coming soon)

While healthcare providers typically access the portal on desktop computers, patients access it through a mobile app. Once their doctor gives them access, they can download and log in to the app to manage all communication and share clinical information.

 

Helping stop the spread of contagion

“We are thankful and pleased to partner with Sonia Neary and Wellola in providing Irish GPs with a video consultation solution,” said Dr Martin Curley, who leads the HSE Digital Transformation team, which focuses on using disruptive technology to drive substantial improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of the Irish health service and the patient experience.

“This will be a key tool in providing remote care to patients in Ireland and a critical tool in helping avoid further contagion of Covid-19. We encourage GPs and other healthcare providers to access and use this service, which is provided at cost.”

 

Benefits to healthcare providers

For providers such as the HSE, a Wellola-built portal is a fast and cost-effective solution to the critical challenge of responding to potential and actual Covid-19 patients.

“It’s designed to be affordable,” says Neary. “If you were to go to a software provider and say ‘Build me a portal’, they would ask you to come back in six months and it would cost you a couple of thousand euro. With Wellola, clients can launch portals with relative speed and affordability.”

The portal also enables the provider to manage their Covid-19 response in a rapid, thorough and secure way. By using it, they can:

  • Mitigate risk: The tool allows a GP practice to triage patients without needing them to attend the practice in person or go to hospital. Patients can fill forms and make bookings through the app, and have video consultations with medical staff.
  • Provide remote care: The portal enables doctors to care for patients who are self-isolating, by using secure messaging and video, and sharing resources such as laboratory results and information leaflets.
  • Maintain clinical workforce capacity: As all portal data is hosted centrally in the cloud, if clinicians such as GPs or consultants need to self-isolate, they can still contribute to remote care for patients if they are well enough to do so.
  • Share information: With Wellola’s connected database and centralised cloud-based system, all those involved in patient care (including community-based providers, primary care staff, GPs, hospitals and so on) can access, track and share patient information relating to Covid-19 victims this single, central cloud-based system.

 

Built on healthcare expertise

Set up in 2017, Wellola initially built portals for physiotherapists. Neary was a practising  physiotherapist and identified the need for secure software to help her peers do their work.

“I’m a big believer in hospital-at-home care models,” she says, “but found when I was providing home care, that I had no easy way to take a booking, keep notes or take a payment and, while out, I could miss an enquiry.”

 

Working across the sector

Since then, the company has evolved to providing portals in Ireland and other countries for other networks of healthcare professionals, such as occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and mental healthcare providers, along with large entities such as hospitals.

“Our model is an enterprise model. For a large entity, such as a hospital or a wide network of healthcare professionals, we give them a standalone version of Wellola, with their own branding, database, server and so on.” says Deasy.

“We’re really passionate about providing healthcare providers with the tools to deliver professional healthcare anywhere,” she says.

“Online consultation systems in both the public and private sector help in maximising available resources, retaining or re-engaging talented staff, facilitate triaging of waiting lists and increasing reach to remote, underserviced areas.”

 

A collaborative approach

Based at the Guinness Enterprise Centre in Dublin, Wellola has collaborated with other Irish-based entities — Stripe, DNM Group and AWS Ireland — to enhance the functionality, security and local hosting of its system.

Recently awarded the Integrated Care Award by the Irish Medical & Surgical Trade Association, Wellola has been backed and funded by the European Institute of Technology and Innovation and by Enterprise Ireland.

Novaerus provides the power of plasma

The outbreak of a new coronavirus has confirmed a fact long understood by Irish company Novaerus: we are what we breathe.

The company manufactures and sells patented medical-grade, clean air solutions. Thanks to new partnerships with established distributors across China, its portable air disinfection units are being made available to healthcare facilities in Hubei, Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Guangzhou City and the Chinese special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.

It comes at a time of growing concern surrounding the recent infectious outbreak caused by a novel coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Indeed, the Chinese Ambassador to Ireland, Mr He Xiangdong, recently visited Novaerus, who have donated several air dis-infection devices to two hospitals in Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the COVID-19 outbreak; Wuhan Xincheng Hospital and Wuhan Third People’s Hospital.

Among the donation of goods is a Defend 1050 for each facility, the company’s latest innovation in infection control. The Defend 1050 is a mobile solution designed for rapid remediation in large spaces and situations with a high risk of infection.

 

Coranavirus – Covid-19

Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

The current outbreak is a new strain that has not previously been identified in humans. It’s not yet clear how easily it spreads from person-to-person. However both MERS and SARS are thought to have spread via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how influenza and other respiratory pathogens spread.

 

Dealing with virus transmission

“The most difficult disease transmission-route to guard against is airborne because we have very little to protect us when we breathe,” says Dr Kevin Devlin, CEO at WellAir, the parent company of Novaerus. Currently very many people in affected regions – and further afield – have responded by wearing surgical masks.
Yet while masks may help guard against the kind of particulates seen in air pollution, they are ineffective against the much smaller size of viruses.

Cleaning the air is a fundamental component of managing infectious outbreaks. However standalone filtration systems are typically unable to trap tiny viral particles too.

Novaerus’ portable air disinfection and purification units are unique in using a patented plasma technology that kills airborne viruses. Its devices suck air from a room and pass it through patented plasma coils to eradicate viruses.
So destructive is Novaerus’ technology that he likens it to passing bacteria through “a field of lightning – particles get destructed as they pass through.”

The company makes a range of devices, the biggest of which can take in 900 cubic metres of air per hour and is used in large spaces. The smallest takes in 80 cubic metres of air in an hour. All run 24 hours a day, using very low power, and reduce the risk to people coming into and out of that room dramatically.

Its units can be used to remediate rooms post-infection rapidly, which is why its primary market is medical facilities. These range from doctor surgeries and waiting rooms to hospital operating theatres and wards. “Anywhere there is a need to reduce the risk of cross-infection,” he says.

The efficacy of Novaerus products have been independently tested and verified across a range of pathogens including measles, influenza and C-diff, as well as fungal spores in buildings.

In fact the biggest challenge it faces are lower quality plasma products currently in the market, he says. These operate in a totally different way, typically by sending out ions into a room which are charged to attract pathogens before having them fall to the ground or onto surfaces where they can be disinfected.
Novaerus’s patented technology is entirely unique in killing them, at speed.

As word of its effectiveness has spread, it has witnessed enormous interest across Asia Pacific, including countries such as South Korea, Vietnam and China, where it is currently opening its first office, in Shanghai.

“Our products are aimed at anywhere there are people but we have always found it easier to get our message across in Asia, where people are already very conscious of the risk from pollutants in the external air,” says Dr Devlin.

“There are already a lot of solutions in this market, including ones which use HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) type filters or masks, but these are effective only for particulates. Again, viruses are much smaller and can pass through them,” he says.

Novaerus machines are effective against hospital ‘super bugs’ and are an inexpensive solution for hospital systems, “particularly given the cost of post-operative infections, such as where a hip replacement has to be done again”, he points out.

Today Novaerus sells into medical facilities in 40 countries, including its main market, South Korea. In October 2019 it signed a partnership in that country which will see its products sell into the high end consumer market too. It’s a first for the company but a move likely to be replicated elsewhere.

“South Koreans are very aware of exterior air quality,” says Dr Devlin. “We launched in that country prior to the current coronavirus outbreak and know that products that are successful in South Korea transfer well around other countries in Asia Pacific.” Already it has seen significant growth in demand throughout the region. “It helps that everything we say about our product is the result of independent tests. It’s not something we are pulling out of the air.”

Aerogen

Ireland races to produce ventilators, nebulisers and more

As the global battle against Covid-19 intensifies, Irish medtech and life sciences firms are ramping up production to meet soaring demand for nebulisers, ventilators and other badly-needed treatment and protection equipment.

Doubling production of critical devices

Half of the existing ventilators in acute hospitals around the world were made in Ireland, which is ranked as one of the top five global medtech hubs.

Medtronic, the world’s largest standalone medical device maker, produces ventilators in a large manufacturing plant in Galway, in the west of Ireland. It is doubling its capacity by more than doubling its workforce of 250 and moving to round-the-clock production.

Another firm increasing production to meet high global demand related to coronavirus treatment is Enterprise Ireland-backed client Aerogen. It’s the world’s leading supplier of aerosol drug delivery products through ventilators to patients in critical and intensive care.

Before the current crisis, Aerogen already provided hospitals in more than 75 countries with its products, benefitting 10 million patients.

Aerogen CEO John Power expects the company could ship 3m or 4m units in 2020, up from 2m in 2019. It is also investigating how to address the global ventilator shortage by adapting non-invasive ventilation systems and are striving to ensure they can meet the sudden and unprecedented growth in demand.

“We are a global company and we are balancing demand from across the world.” says Power

Demand up by as much as 300%

Galway-based M&M Qualtech manufactures products for the medtech, aviation, ICT and other sectors. It produces ventilators, nebulisers and medical monitoring equipment for its medtech customers, including Aerogen and Medtronic. It says it’s seeing capacity demand three to five times higher than the usual pre-crisis level.

M&M Qualtech began to see this spike in manufacturing demand in early March and already expects to produce 4m nebulisers this year, up from 2m last year. It also anticipates a similar rate of increase in production of nebuliser controllers (likely to produce 45,000, up from 35,000) and ventilator AC modules (expecting to make 18,000, up from 5,000 in 2019).

It’s increasing capacity by focusing factory production on the most critically needed medical products, hiring up to 25% more Production Operators, engaging with suppliers daily to expedite materials into production, and redesigning its factory to meet social distancing requirements.  

Ripple effect of Covid-19 crisis 

Also based in the west of Ireland, Vitalograph is the world leader in the analysis of cough drug trials. It specialises in cardiorespiratory and related devices that measure lung and cardiac function, diagnose lung disorders and also produces associated products and software.

Vitalograph is working to meet increased demand for spirometers and consumables such as bacterial-viral filters and test kits and seeing a significant increase in orders of remote monitors. Over the past 15 years, Vitalograph remote monitoring has mainly been used in clinical trials but is now rapidly being adopted by mainstream healthcare.

According CEO, Frank Keane, “Remote monitoring enables the most vulnerable patients with conditions such as COPD, cystic fibrosis and IPF to remain in their homes and not travel to hospitals or clinics and risk picking up infections,”

“As the patients we serve will be the most vulnerable to a respiratory disease of this nature, we are doubling our efforts to ensure we can fulfil our mission and serve them at this time.” said Keane,

Vitalograph has also recruited more staff, and increased both capacity and orders from sub-suppliers, and activated their comprehensive business continuity plan.

Deirdre Glenn, Head of Lifesciences with Enterprise Ireland, said “In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, Irish medtech companies are rising to the challenge of meeting the increased global demand for essential equipment needed for the treatment and prevention of Covid-19. As the second largest exporter of medtech products in Europe, and with the highest number of people per capital employed in medtech in Europe, Ireland is primed to play its role in the global fight against Covid-19”

Anne Lanigan Enterprise Ireland

Market Watch – A view from the Eurozone

Anne Lanigan, Director of the EurozoneThere is no doubt that the impact of COVID-19 on mainland Europe has been profound with most countries operating on a skeleton crew of essential businesses and services. However, Anne Lanigan, Regional Director, Eurozone, for Enterprise Ireland, says goods are still moving and it is possible to do business.

 

Key Takeaways:

  • The situation is evolving daily and the 45 strong Enterprise Ireland team on the ground in the Eurozone are working and available as normal, albeit remotely to be of assistance.
  • Business is still moving although slower, particularly in the Medtech, Pharma, Construction, Food, eCommerce and other services sectors.
  • The innovation, flexibility and commitment of Irish companies will help them survive this crisis.

 

“A lot of sectors have been very badly hit, particularly in the hospitality, aerospace and automotive sectors,” she says. “High tech construction of pharma facilities and data centres is still continuing, with some challenges in Germany and the Netherlands. Pharma, Medtech and Food still continue as best they can, and we have good examples of clients in the technology, eCommerce and employee engagement sectors who are experiencing growth. However, for many sectors things are likely to get worse before they get better.”

“I would encourage Irish exporters to make contact with customers, partners and distributors. Communication is crucial at this point. Getting an understanding of the situation your customers are in will help you in forward planning and may help you to deliver an immediate or different solution. In addition, the contact you make now will be appreciated and remembered once we are over this crisis.”

Speaking to customers over the telephone or in a virtual meeting, rather than by email, will offer a much better opportunity to engage and get insights into their situation, what their future plans are and how you might feature in those future plans.

Depending on staff availability and the level of slowdown, Lanigan says some businesses may be able to use this time to build their export capability.

“This could be an opportunity to do market research, a very important element of successful exporting” she advises. “This crisis is temporary so fundamentally it’s still important to validate markets and sectors for your products and services, carry out competitive analysis, build a pricing and communication strategy and develop a strong market development plan.

Doing an online language course for an hour every day might also be a welcome break away from home working while also building up a necessary skillset for exporting to Europe.”

The Eurozone director says there are many supports available to Enterprise Ireland clients as well as government supports available to all companies. These can be found on the Enterprise Ireland Covid-19 business response pages and new supports will be added as soon as they become available. Specific market supports such as the Market Discovery Fund are of course still all available. And Eurozone Market Advisors can provide specific information on supports available locally in their markets.

“Alongside the obvious market challenges, we are seeing a number of other challenges. Our clients are in some cases finding it difficult to engage with customers who are busy trying to resolve their own internal problems,” she says. “Movement of product is also more complicated as extra paperwork is required in some locations. It’s also difficult to get clarity regarding the movement of people as the situation is evolving. However, we continue to assist client companies in meeting buyers (virtually), and we are seeing business deals– it’s not anything close to normal but it is still moving.”

“In addition, in every crisis there are opportunities. Irish companies are typically highly innovative and are quick to pivot. Our clients are known for their flexibility and can change focus quite quickly so there is the possibility to adapt products and services to win business in new markets and new sectors.

Lanigan says the key to surviving this crisis is to stay close to customers, demonstrate flexibility, and be innovative:

Markets will start to open again so we need to ensure that we are ready to get going when we come out of this crisis.”

“Enterprise Ireland Market Advisers are available to help. Our team across the Eurozone are working remotely and contactable by phone or email for one-to-one support. Our priorities are to respond to particular requests from clients and to proactively support clients to continue to do business. In addition to supporting contact with customers, distributors and partners, Market Advisors can also provide advice and help with local market knowledge on the evolving situation and help deal with particular issues as they arise. If you haven’t had recent contact with your Enterprise Ireland Market Advisers please get in touch with your Development Adviser who will make the introduction.”

Irish companies are known across Europe for being innovative, flexible, easy to work with and committed. These characteristics will stand to us and help us through this difficult period.” says Lanigan.

 

Private Healthcare webinar

Private Healthcare – UK webinar

Private Healthcare UK webinar

This webinar gives an in-depth analysis of the UK private healthcare market, providing Irish businesses with insights into the opportunities and challenges that exist for companies aspiring to target the market.

Topics discussed in this webinar include:

– Market size and scope.

– Private Healthcare landscape and sectors.

– Digital health usage across the private sector.

The webinar is hosted by Martin Bell, Independent Healthcare IT Consultant.

Martin is joined by James Maunder, Chief Information Officer at The London Clinic for an interactive question and answer session.

 

Building an online presence in Germany

Building your German online presence – Best practice in localisation and eCommerce

Building an online presence in Germany

 

Selecting the route to market can be one of the main challenges for any business looking to export to Germany. While in the past there may have been a preferred or single route to market, businesses are achieving success using multi-channel approach to engage the market at different levels.

Enterprise Ireland’s team in Germany has seen the importance of online to not only sell products and services but also to support the German customer in their buying journey. Buying decision are often made well in advance of the first contact. Your online presence is a key factor in informing and influencing your customer about your business and why they should consider you for their needs.

Enterprise Ireland has vast experience in advising businesses on German customers’ perspectives and expectations and how to develop an effective German online presence. In conjunction with Glocafy, Enterprise Ireland has developed this Best Practice guide with sectoral insights and advice from companies already trading in Germany.

Help your business to succeed locally, download your Best Practice Guide to Building your German online presence.