Ireland is one of the world’s major medtech hubs, hosting 18 of the world’s top 25 medtech firms and exporting over €12 billion of medical products every year. To many, this country represents a blazoning example of forward thinking and growth in a competitive market.

Ireland’s medtech origins can be traced to a number of different points but perhaps the most important is the development of IDA Ireland, a government body designed to stimulate export-led business throughout the country.

A major win for medtech in Ireland came from IDA securing a contract with global firm Schering-Plough to deliver biotechnology-derived pharmaceutical products; a fundamental moment in Ireland’s medtech history.

Now, as the second largest exporter of medical technologies in the world, Ireland is an established medtech hub. But who are its major players, where are they, and what can we expect from Ireland in the future?

The hubs

It’s no surprise that medtech companies have flocked to Ireland. Through the country’s EU membership, companies have access to a European market consisting of over 500 million potential customers. And Ireland’s commitment to invest over €5 billion in science and technology research in Ireland by 2020 shows a country dedicated to the sector.

It’s not just Ireland’s homegrown companies that are finding success. A partnership between Enterprise Ireland and Mayo Clinic launched in 2014 was designed to commercialise 20 US medtech products whilst also creating 10 spin-out companies in Ireland.

Inform BioScience was one of the first spin-outs to benefit from the partnership and in 2014, the firm signed a license agreement with the Mayo Clinic so it could develop a urine test to detect preeclampsia in pregnant women.

Ireland has a diverse set of locations from which medtech companies are operating. Whilst Dublin is home to a large number of medtech players, many companies are opting to base themselves in regions outside of the capital.

Galway’s medtech scene shows a web of companies all within striking distance of each other. Major players such as Medtronic, Boston Scientific and Creganna all operate within Galway, alongside the 8,333 medtech employees that work within the city.

With the West of Ireland accounting for 39% of all medical device employees in the country, Galway has played a strong role in developing its medtech cluster. As the second largest hub for medtech in Ireland, Galway is home to both major medtech companies, exciting start-ups and the Cúram, Centre for Research in Medical Devices; touted as Ireland’s ‘super centre’ for developing the next generation of smart medical devices.

Cúram has been active in many areas of medtech and throughout the past two years has managed to develop a potential new treatment for lower back pain; formalise a partnership with the Korean Institute of Industrial Technology for education in biomedical manufacturing and scoop up Ibec’s ‘Academic Contribution to Medtech Award’.

Only just this year, manufacturer of rapid diagnostic testing solution, Quidel, announced the creation of a Business Service Centre in Galway. The centre is set to create 75 jobs over the next five years; a small but essential contribution to the 4,000 extra medtech jobs being targeted by business lobby group Ibec, by 2020.

For Creganna, TE Connectivity, Ireland offers a location in which it can easily connect with other medtech companies, as well as potential customers.

“As a medical device outsourcing partner, Ireland offers the benefits of co-location with leading medical technology companies. This close proximity benefits Creganna, TE Connectivity and our customers through regular local access and expedited support for design, development and manufacturing programs,” the company’s director, commercial, Jeff Stanton said.

But what is it specifically that attracts medtech companies to Galway? Well it could be the talented employees that are flocking to the city away from Dublin. Since 2015, a 70% increase in Dublin-based tech workers looking at jobs in Galway has been noted.

And according to Sheila O’Loughlin, senior market adviser for Enterprise Ireland, Galway, “where a third of Ireland’s medtech employees are based, is undoubtedly the epicentre of activity and home to the BioExel Medtech Accelerator, the first of its kind in Ireland to focus solely on the medical technology sector,” she explains.

Designed to attract the best medical technologies currently being developed, BioExel offers €95,000 in seed funding to help applicants build and bring their products to market.

Galway is an ideal location for collaboration with other businesses, but more importantly, Ireland as a whole has a “dynamic ecosystem where academia, industry, clinicians and government work together closely, enabling Ireland to flourish on the global stage,” according to O’Loughlin.

Take for instance, the employment opportunities that are being made by medtech companies. Ireland’s employment rates for graduates recently returned to levels last seen during the economic boon and 60% of graduates go on to work somewhere within Ireland.

In Limerick, Becton Dickinson announced that it will hire an additional 85 staff for its R&D centre, where as further north, Abbott will hire 500 staff to help expand its operations for developing devices to treat and manage diabetes.

Considering that the total number of people living with diabetes in Ireland is estimated to be over 200,000 Ireland offers a major market for companies operating in this space.

The reason for Ireland’s successful medtech industry can be put down to a range of factors. According to IDA Ireland’s head of medtech, Rachel Shelly, the industry has been “underpinned by the strong skills based and access to talent; technical competency; and Design for Manufacture capability. As a result, Ireland is the largest medtech employer per capita across Europe.”

What can’t be ignored are the financial incentives offered to companies conducting R&D throughout Ireland. The 25% R&D tax credit makes Ireland attractive to medtech companies, which are largely dependent upon innovation and pushing boundaries of science and technology. More so, Ireland’s corporate tax rate of 12.5% is one of the lowest in the OECD and the country also offers incentives for companies carrying out academic collaborations.

And according to Creganna’s Jeff Stanton, the very fundamentals of Ireland’s medtech industry are what helps drive the sector forward.

“Innovation, investment in R&D and continued expansion of manufacturing capability continues apace, enabled by a talent pool with deep industry and global experience. The industry fundamentals in Ireland pave the way for continued growth of the sector into the future.”

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland’s medtech market also shows highly promising signs of growth.

Ulster University is one of the region’s major hubs for medtech and a recent €7 million laboratory will see it offering equipment and expertise for companies developing prototypes within the biomedical sector.

More so, the University’s €8.2 million Eastern Corridor Medical Engineering Centre (ECME) was launched earlier this year to develop smart wearable technologies for cardiovascular patients. The centre of research has partners in Republic of Ireland and Scotland, highlighting the cross collaboration that is going on across the UK and Ireland.

Indeed, Northern Ireland-based company Neurovalens – which has developed a fat burning wearable – is a medtech success story, raising over $1.5 million in funding from a goal of $50,000.

The Ireland initiative

Initiatives throughout Ireland are aimed at helping companies advance their technologies and now might more than ever be the best time to be a medtech start-up. The Irish government has just announced a €500 million Disruptive Technologies Fund that aims to help companies develop and commercialise their innovations.

Indeed the fund recognises the latest technologies that are beginning to change how industries operate and the government has set out a specific focus on things like augmented and virtual reality, health and wellbeing, advanced and smart manufacturing and artificial intelligence.