Aerogen

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

 

Scale 21 – Helping businesses to get established in the UK

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The UK has always been and remains Irelands largest single trading partner with a wealth of opportunities for Irish companies.

To support Irish companies to establish themselves in the UK, Enterprise Ireland has run the Scale UK mentoring programme since 2012.

This year’s Scale 21 invites companies to advance their businesses by finessing their strategies, developing their UK messaging, analysing their sales channels and becoming pitch ready with inputs from our experienced mentors.

Download more information on Scale 21 or watch our programme overview below.

Gain insights from a previous participant and mentor who discuss their experiences with Scale UK.

Gillian Doyle, CEO Cerebreon discusses her experience of participating on Scale UK and gives her advice for companies applying for next year’s programme.

Carol Ward, President at Man GLG and Scale UK mentor shares her experience of Scale UK, working with fellow mentors and Irish diaspora and the importance of supporting companies with growth ambition for the UK.

 

To learn more about the Scale 21 programme download our guide.

Market Watch – View from Asia Pacific

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Mary Kinnane, Enterprise Ireland Asia Pac directorAs Covid-19 impacts markets globally, our Market Watch will provide timely insights to clients. Mary Kinnane, Regional Director, Asia Pac, Enterprise Ireland discusses the view from the APAC region.

 

1.What are you seeing on the ground in the APAC Region in terms of the impact of Covid-19?

With Covid-19 being present in the Asia Pac region for some months with serious human health implications, the collateral damage to business and economic sentiment has been apparent since early Q1.  This past fortnight has seen the global implications of the virus really impact economically with business indicators and sentiment on the ground turning very negative.  There has been a near collapse in regional and international travel as governments across Asia Pac try to control the spread of the virus.  The situation varies to some extent across the region, and also across sectors, but the overall impact in the region is profound.

 

2. What’s your advice to Irish exporters in terms of engaging with customers and suppliers?

Stay focused on what you can influence and control, both in respect of existing sales delivery in the near term, and on planning for the recovery when it does come. Proactive and regular communication with suppliers is to be advised to instill and ensure mutual confidence.

 

3. What Covid-19 business supports are being put into place across the APAC Region to support business continuity?

The increase in remote working and split teams in mission critical areas within organisations has unfolded at an unprecedented pace in APAC.  Company policies have and are evolving rapidly with respect to such supports.  On a macro basis government and central bank stimuli are being deployed at scale in an attempt to contain the potential longer term economic impact of the crisis.

 

4. What advice would you have for Irish businesses exporting to APAC during this time?

If already exporting to the region the advice would be predicated on the simple premise that it is much easier to retain a customer than to win a new customer in the region.  Within whatever constraints you are operating under, communicate proactively and try to support business continuity.  As with historical crises in the region customer loyalty will more often than not be rewarded in the longer term.

For potential new entrants to the region whilst travel is not possible in the short term, if resources allow, it is a good time to research and prospect new opportunities remotely.  We are finding that some APAC companies have time and are more amenable to digital contact than heretofore.  As always with the APAC region, Irish companies must be realistic on the runway required to winning new business.

 

5. How is the Enterprise Ireland office network across the APAC Region supporting Irish companies during this period?

The Enterprise Ireland network of offices from Beijing to Sydney is fully operational with teams working remotely to ensure continuity of service to both existing clients and to support the pipeline of new entrants to the region.

Our focus is twofold;  firstly, supporting the immediate challenges of clients with respect to customer delivery and supply chain management and secondly, continuing to support new business prospecting in the region in preparation for the uptick which will come in time. There is every reason to believe that the high growth APAC region will continue to offer serious rewards to client companies once the current crisis abates.

Irish innovation working to combat Covid-19

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Irish companies are taking up the fight against Covid-19. New developments rapidly emerging from Ireland, one of the leading medtech hubs in the world, are being used to help stem the advance of the virus.

 

New rapid Covid-19 diagnostic test

Dublin based HiberGene Diagnostics develops and manufactures molecular diagnostics tests for human infectious diseases. It specialises in the manufacture of rapid and highly accurate testing solutions that are cost effective and simple to use.

Now it is developing a new and rapid test for the novel coronavirus, which it hopes to bring to market shortly after clinical evaluation at potential sites in China, Italy & Ireland.

HiberGene’s tests are based on non-invasive human samples such as swabs, and minimal sample processing.

Because the test for the new coronavirus is a “near patient test”, samples will be taken and tested on location, without needing to be sent offsite to a laboratory, it expects to diagnose a positive COVID 19 result in approx. 20 minutes, many times faster than the fastest existing molecular diagnostic tests.

 

New Protein to fight Covid-19 through diagnosis, vaccines and research

Fellow Irish biotech company Aalto Bio Reagents has launched a new protein with the power to fight the Covid-19 on three fronts – diagnosis, vaccines and research.

Its new recombinant SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (code CK 6404) is available for diagnostic test manufacturers, vaccine developers and researchers globally, all of whom are working to stem the current pandemic.

“Patients are currently being screened for the virus by PCR”, 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. Sero-epidemiologic investigations, such as those aimed to better understand transmission characteristics and severity of COVID-19, are also essential.”

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

Irish company Aerogen has pioneered new ways to help people in respiratory distress. To date more than nine million patients worldwide have benefited from its innovative aerosol drug delivery technology.

Unlike conventional nebulisers, Aerogen has an in-line circuit design, which means the ventilation circuit does not need to be broken for drug delivery. Its management team believes it could therefore be a viable option to help deliver industry-leading care to patients infected with Covid-19.

Its products offer a lower risk of transmission of patient generated infectious aerosol for health care professionals in acute care settings than traditional nebulisers.

For patients requiring ventilation, its vibrating mesh technology, and closed circuit design, makes it a viable option to help deliver industry-leading care. 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.

Unlike conventional nebulisers, the Aerogen Solo device has an in-line circuit design and is designed so that the medication reservoir is isolated from the breathing circuit, minimising nebulisation of contaminated fluids.

 

Air Purification System to Kill Airborne Viruses

Pioneering plasma technology developed by Irish company Novaerus is already being deployed to purify air for patients and medical staff.

Novaerus helps control the spread of pathogens by closing the infection control loop made up of hands, surfaces, and now air. It uses a patented technology that kills airborne viruses by sucking air from a room and passing it through patented plasma coils which destroy them, reducing the risk of cross-infection.

Several of its medical-grade, clean air solutions have been donated to hospitals in Wuhan, China.

These include its latest model, Defend 1050, a mobile solution designed for rapid remediation in large spaces and situations with a high risk of infection.

Coronaviruses spread via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how influenza and other respiratory pathogens spread. “The most difficult disease transmission-route to guard against is airborne because we have very little to protect us when we breathe,” explained Dr Kevin Devlin, CEO at WellAir, the Irish parent company of Novaerus.

 

New Augmented Reality Hand Washing App

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. Stemming the virus’ spread depends on how often, and how well, we do that.

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 to provide proper hand hygiene training to healthcare workers, patients and visitors worldwide.

It ensures compliance in hand hygiene to World Health Organisation protocol by delivering training in an engaging manner that encourages participation. By providing real-time feedback, it helps users to 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 it has launched its app to the general public, so that everyone can play their part.

 

New Covid-19 online portal allows GPs to treat patients remotely

Patient portal developer Wellola responded to a call from Ireland’s Health Services Executive (HSE), Ireland’s national health authority, to develop and launch a new secure communication portal for clinicians and primary care providers in response to the pandemic.

Called HSE Covid 19 Portal, it’s an easy to use digital tool designed to optimise doctor and patient safety.  Patients access it via an app which is downloadable via the HSE Covid 19 website. The new online portal allows GPs and healthcare providers to treat people remotely so as to protect themselves from Covid-19. The portal allows GPs and primary-care providers to easily offer patients a range of services, including online bookings, a video consultation service, secure messaging and form completion to assist in triaging.

The Covid 19 app is based on existing technology already developed and tested by Wellola and so was ready to launch just four days after receiving the call from the HSE.

Finally, in the face of a worldwide shortage of life saving ventilators, an international initiative called the Open Ventilator Project quickly came together on Facebook to design and build a 3-D printed ventilator.

In Ireland the project was led by Colin Keogh of Sapien Innovation, a specialist in applied innovation, creativity and design thinking services. Within a week it had produced a prototype it hopes will be validated by Ireland’s health authorities for use in the fight against Covid-19.

Pilot Photonics

Spotlight on DTIF: Pilot Photonics combines Irish lasers and the internet of the future

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Laser technology has come a long way since Star Wars. Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation is now widely used across areas from medicine to communications. It plays an important role in our daily lives, allowing us to send information over the internet, play DVDs and store data in the cloud.

But the full potential of photonics, the science and application of light, remains untapped. Irish companies are playing a growing role in exploring the possibilities of this key technology with the help of significant investment from the Government’s €500 million Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) as well as university research programmes.

Founded in 2011 as a university spin-out, and built on more than 10 years of research at Dublin City University (DCU) and the Tyndall National Institute in Cork, Pilot Photonics is among those working and innovating in the area.

 

iLife project

With research partners in DCU and Trinity College Dublin (TCD), it is working on a new project called iLife, or Irish Lasers for the Internet of the Future. The three-year project, supported by €1.6 million in DTIF funding, aims to develop a new type of laser technology for the communications market.

“Ultimately, it’s about creating optical microchips that use light rather than electricity to send information,” says Frank Smyth, project leader and chief technology officer at Pilot Photonics. 

The project aims to provide a solution to the impending “capacity crunch” facing telecommunication and data centre networks. As internet consumption increases, technology is struggling to keep pace with usage rates. Every time streaming video must buffer or online games freeze, we see the impact of reaching the limits of global bandwidth.

 

New laser technology

iLife is developing a new type of laser technology that could provide one solution to this problem, increasing internet capacity by packing as much information as possible onto existing networks.

Its comb source laser technology offers numerous advantages over the single wavelength lasers that have been used in telecom applications to date, including increased performance and reduced cost, footprint and power consumption.

“We are developing a new type of laser known as an optical comb source that can dramatically increase the amount of information that can be packed onto the optical fibres that make up the backbone of the internet,” Smyth says. 

To put it simply, he says: “When you change station on your car radio what you’re doing is changing the frequency. Our technology allows you to insert more frequencies between the set channels and pack everything tighter together. Each one of those intermediate channels can carry more data increasing the overall capacity of the system.”

 

DTIF: Government funding for innovation

iLife was awarded state funding of €1.6 million in 2018, one of 27 innovation projects across the health, food, ICT and manufacturing sectors to receive money from the first tranche of the DTIF.

The €500 million fund, established under Project Ireland 2040 and run by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation with support from Enterprise Ireland, aims to help enterprises and research institutions to collaborate on projects that will develop and deploy disruptive innovative technologies on a commercial basis.

“The DTIF funding was a big gateway that allowed us to resource this project,” Smyth says, noting the company would not have been able to undertake such cutting-edge work without it.

At present, 12 people are working on iLife, including a team of eight from Pilot Photonics. The DTIF money is initially being used to fund the design of new photonic microchips as well as their fabrication, testing and the development of advanced prototypes.

 

Commercial potential for Pilot Photonics

“What the funding will allow us to do is to really take this technology to a point where we can put it into customer’s hands for evaluation and then get it out into the marketplace,” Smyth says. He estimates that the laser market is currently worth around $12 billion, with the communications sector, the segment iLife is targeting, accounting for around $3 billion of this.

“The commercial focus of this development is at the high end,” he says, adding that the large global corporations interested in this project and its outcome include Google, Nokia, Huawei and others. “We are talking to some of the biggest networking companies in the world.”

Aside from its commercial possibilities, Smyth believes the research can be used in sectors besides communications. For instance, the same technology can also be used in LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) for driverless cars, and in gas-sensing for environmental monitoring, he says.

 

Other projects in the pipeline

In December, Pilot Photonics was successful in securing further DTIF funding for another project, known as FreeSpace. The project, a collaboration with mBryonics, OEWaves, DCU and TCD, received €3.6 million under the second round of DTIF funding, with around €652,000 earmarked for Pilot Photonics.

Freespace aims to revolutionise wireless connectivity with ultra-high capacity laser communication technology that delivers an unprecedented combination of bandwidth, availability and distance without the need for spectrum licensing.

Meanwhile, the DTIF is also backing another ground-breaking photonics project, the Photonics Manufacturing Pilot Line. It is providing funding of €4.1 million to the project, which is led by Tyndall and includes German photonics assembly and testing firm Ficontec along with industry partners mBryonics, Eblana Photonics, Sanmina and Optics11 Faz Technology.

The project will build a dedicated, open-access physical photonic packaging pilot line in Ireland, designed to fill the gap that exists today by fabricating tens to hundreds of units.

 

Irish photonics cluster emerges

To date, the DTIF has invested €19.6 million in photonics-related projects through its first two funding rounds. This builds on the significant state funding that has flowed in recent years to photonics research in DCU, TCD, and Tyndall, which has a state-of-the-art photonics centre.

“The government has prioritised photonics as a key area for investment over the past 20 years and the country is now beginning to see the rewards from that investment,” Smyth says. 

He points to the emergence of several new photonics startups, some of which have been acquired by large US companies, while keeping and growing the number of high-value jobs in Ireland. He also notes the growing number of researchers with expertise in the area coming through the education system while the Irish Photonic Integration Centre (IPIC) acts as a hub for the industry in Ireland.

“A photonics ecosystem is coming together,” Smyth says, one that aims, in the words of the IPIC, “to build the future with talent and technology”.

 

For more information and call dates for the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund visit the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation website.

Enterprise Ireland’s top tips for entering the Chinese market

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The ambitions of both the Chinese government and the private sector to improve competitiveness is driving demand for foreign technology and expertise, which in turn is increasing opportunities for Irish firms in the region.

If you are considering doing business in China, please be sure to explore our tips to enter the market below and also be sure to reach out to our dedicated team. 

  • Make a strategy to protect your intellectual property before you enter the Chinese market.
  • Treating China as one large market is difficult, narrow down your target cities
  • Second- and third-tier cities might be a better option for many products since there may be fewer competitors, more demand from consumers and local governments willing to facilitate market access.
  • Best practices show that investing some time in China to meet people, experience the market, and test prices and consumer behaviour is critical before making the decision to invest.
  • Having a physical presence in China can be part of a long-term strategy to enter the country.
  • Firms should carefully weigh all the available options against their business needs before deciding on a legal structure in China.
  • In China, there are certification, registration and labelling schemes that are often complex.
  • Labour costs in China are rising quickly. High turnover is also becoming a concern.
  • Finding the right importer/distributor in China is critical for success. Guanxi (people to people relationship) is important as reliable contact can help you understand the negotiating habits of the Chinese that would otherwise require months of on-the-ground presence in China to understand.
  • Companies need 6-9 months of preparatory work to enter China, which is longer than other markets;
  • In Greater China, Enterprise Ireland have three offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong, servicing key sectors for Irish companies.

If you are considering doing business in China be sure to reach out to our team and read our Going Global Guide for more information.

 

If you would like to know what to prepare ahead of your first MA call, click the graphic below

Portwest – targeting new markets with GradStart

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GradStart

 

“Bringing linguistic graduates onboard allowed us to bring in talent that could research Spanish and French speaking territories, and open opportunities for our sales teams, which contributed to our target of 20% growth.”

Deirdre Clarke, HR Manager, Portwest

Overview:

  • Portwest is a market leader in the design and manufacture of stylish, comfortable, high-quality workwear that meets recognised international standards.
  • With customer support staff in over 120 countries, the company used Enterprise Ireland’s GradStart initiative to attract fresh graduate talent with French and Spanish language skills to research new markets and drive business activity.
  • The GradStart programme offers salary support of up to 70% for the employment of graduate talent to assist companies when expanding into new markets.

 

1. What attracted you to get involved in GradStart?

We are very fortunate to have a great Development Advisor (DA), who consistently keeps us informed of programs which may be of benefit to our specific business. As we had already taken part in the similar G4IG program, we felt that GradStart would be another fantastic initiative from Enterprise Ireland to help with the development and international growth of our business. At that time we were also in the process of developing a formal Portwest Graduate Program. The timing was ideal for us as GradStart gave us the additional option of introducing a linguistic element to this program.

 

2. What did GradStart allow you to do that you wouldn’t have done otherwise?

GradStart allowed us to provide opportunities to newly qualified graduates at our headquarters here in the West of Ireland, and to include a linguistic dimension to our commercial team which up to now was 100% English speaking. We now have two talented graduates with French and Spanish capabilities who are able to help us explore new market opportunities In particularly across South America and Mexico.

 

3. What challenges and/or opportunities did GradStart help you address?

We had struggled with the exploration of non-English speaking markets. Bringing linguistic graduates onboard allowed us to bring in talent that could research Spanish and French speaking territories, and open opportunities for our sales teams, which contributed to our target of 20% growth. In turn, this allowed us to provide further job opportunities in these regions as we were able to justify the recruitment of sales staff to follow through on the opportunities identified by our graduates.

 

4. Which areas of the business did the graduate contribute to?

Market research and explorative work in heretofore unexplored territories. This is ongoing and while GradStart partially funds the salaries for such graduates for a two year period, we would envisage the continuation of such due to the success of these roles and how the program helps contribute to Portwest’s growth.

 

5. Were there any learnings from your participation in GradStart that you have taken forward into your business.

We have learned that only hiring experienced staff with x years’ experience in x industry can be limiting. Hiring graduates with their fresh approach and up to date knowledge of their areas of expertise can truly contribute in a meaningful way to our corporate goals. Furthermore, the satisfaction of being able to bring these graduates straight from college to management roles within such a short space of time is highly rewarding for any employer. We currently have graduates in managerial positions in our sites in Australia, USA and HQ and will look to add Europe and the UK to this as part of our 2020 Graduate program.

 

6. Would you recommend GradStart to your business peers? If so, why?

This is a fantastic way to introduce a graduate program to your company if you do not already have one. We had previously brought in graduates on an ad hoc basis, but between G4IG and now GradStart, this meant that we were able to formalise a program and become confident in our offering. This is a fantastic opportunity for any graduate looking to kick-start their career and with Enterprise Ireland funding, it is wonderful that businesses can get involved in such a great initiative.

 

7. Which languages were the graduates skilled in?

French and Spanish.

 

8. Have you stayed in touch with the graduate?

Yes – our graduates are still with us as they joined us in September 2019 for a two year period. One graduate will remain on site here at Portwest HQ while the other, following an initial training period at Portwest headquarters, has now relocated to our Kentucky office where they will continue to work with our Sales, Commercial and Marketing teams on exploring new markets. We see this as an ongoing project now, and a model which we would hope to continue after our current GradStart program is complete.

Learn more about GradStart and how it can support your business growth.

Forward-thinking ethos drives Kora Healthcare’s success

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It has been an extraordinary year for business across every sector and many companies in Ireland and around the globe have been badly affected by both the pandemic and the onset of Brexit.

But the healthcare industry is one which has managed to stay afloat and even thrive during the crisis as demand for its products and services increased.

Conor O’Daly, CEO of Kora Healthcare, which was originally established in 1994 but ‘reborn’ in 2011 when its sister company was divested and it refocused its sights on a more international market, says the company was fortunate to have been well prepared when the pandemic hit.

“Every business has felt the impact of the crisis over the past 12 months, and we, like everyone else, were taken by surprise,” he says.

“But thankfully we are an organisation which has always worked towards continuous improvement and given our size (32 employees across Irish and UK branches), we were agile and able to adapt easily.” says O’Daly

“When it came to remote working, our IT set-up was thankfully already in place as some staff had been working from home on occasion or internationally and we also have pretty adaptable working methods so rather than hibernating or going into sleep mode, we looked for opportunities. One we quickly seized on was launching our new portfolio of Vitamin D products, under our brand FamilyD, which of course are very front of mind now as every time you open a magazine or put on the TV, people are talking about Vitamin D and its benefits on the immune system given Covid. Fortunately, we had a well-established brand BabyD in the Vitamin D space but were looking to expand the portfolio and recent events gave us the push to do just that.”

 

Preparing for Brexit

The emerging pharma and medical device company, which is based in Swords, has actually increased its head count since the start of the pandemic and thanks to a forward-thinking ethos, has not only survived the current crisis but has also prepared well for Brexit and is coping well with the new regulations.

“Given the industry we are in, there was a huge amount to prepare ahead of Brexit,” says O’Daly. “When the UK left the EU, there were always going to be huge changes with regard to the regulation, control and monitoring of medicines and medical devices and impact to Kora Healthcare. It is a heavily regulated industry, and rightly so, so understanding the finer details and scenario planning became a challenge when there was an information vacuum at times.

“But we started preparing for this right from the start –the day after the Brexit vote was revealed, as we knew there would be a lot involved. We broke down the issues into five broad areas – people, finance, operations, intellectual property, and customs – and looked at how they would impact our business and what we would need to do to ensure a smooth transition and continuation of business.

“We have experienced no issues so far, aside from understanding finer details related to Northern Ireland protocol in the latter months of 2020. But we said from the start that we wanted a ‘no regrets Brexit’, so we prepared for the worst and hoped for the best. And when we got back to work on January 4th, we had to roll back on some of our worst-case scenario preparations. The only thing that still concerns us, and perhaps the industry in general, is UK logistics preparations and movements in and out of the UK.

“Our concern is not our shipment but rather the one in front or the one behind which might not have its paperwork in order and could delay our products getting to our customer” says O’Daly

Looking back over the past 2 ½ years, we have been very proactive to the point that at every opportunity we reflected on and discussed Brexit and its impact.”

 

Taking the step into new markets

Along with preparing well for Brexit, the Dublin-based company also decided to open a branch in the UK, which will ultimately, make doing busines there a lot easier.

“Because we already had a commercial team in the UK and increasing revenue was coming from there, we decided the time was right to scale commercially and establish a firm footing and opened a subsidiary in York,” says the company CEO. “Regardless of the Brexit vote, we felt that it was the right time for us to formally put a structure and more dedicated resources.

“Over 50% of our revenue comes from UK, but also we wanted to grow internationally and have put more resources towards developing in other countries such as Germany and Belgium – and we are also looking to branch out to Canada and the US by hopefully opening an office in Canada to cover that jurisdiction.

“Brexit prepared us for further trade and has made diversification across additional territories much easier. ” 

“Of course, as a company, we have always been internationally driven and market our products in 32 countries, either by ourselves or with partners – so we are not afraid to do business around the world and the reality of Brexit gave us the incentive to push more into Europe, which is what we hope to do next.”

O’Daly says that Enterprise Ireland was also a huge help when it came to developing the business abroad.

“Right from day one, Enterprise Ireland was a fantastic resource for us,” he says. “We got some necessary supports and consultancy advice in the early stages particularly around financial planning, given the impact on exchange rates.

“They also ran some very informative seminars and then in recent months, some very useful webinars. And our development advisor has been in contact on a regular basis to make sure we were working on the things we needed to and to check if we needed any additional support.”

While the team at Kora Healthcare has managed to survive and thrive over the past year, they also have plenty of plans for the future and would advise other healthcare companies who are considering branching outside of Ireland to plan well ahead.

“Things can move very slowly in our industry and when it comes to registering or developing a medicine or therapy, it’s a thorough process – not everything happens as swiftly as the Covid vaccine,” he says. “So I would advise other firms to prepare well in advance. And while the UK is still our closest neighbour and trading partner, so it’s natural for Irish companies to seek to trade with them initially, I would also encourage looking to the Eurozone markets sooner rather than later.

“There will be benefits to ongoing trade with our nearest neighbour, but doing business with the UK may become more cumbersome – so we shouldn’t forget about France, Germany, Italy and Spain – as they are all viable and mature markets which are of similar size or indeed bigger than the UK.”