23rd September 2016
This trade mission highlights Ireland as a key medtech hub
Enterprise Ireland’s first Life Sciences Trade Mission to the Mid-West of the United States, led by the Minister of State for Employment and Small Business, Pat Breen TD, concludes. Eighteen Irish life sciences companies travelled to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul in Minnesota, one of the largest medtech clusters in the United States.
Dozens of leads for Irish medtech companies involved in Sub-Supply (SS) and Finished Devices (FD) have been created and progressed during the five-day mission. The companies from all over Ireland participated in one-to-one meetings with many attending the Medical Design and Manufacturing Conference in Minneapolis on Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd September. Leading organisations such as Boston Scientific, Medtronic, 3M, Teleflex Medical, Mayo Clinic and Stratasys also hosted the delegation.
During the mission, Leitrim company Cora Systems, which is a leading provider of enterprise portfolio, program and project management solutions, announced a significant contract with Honeywell Building Solutions. Honeywell is a global leader in energy services and plans to implement the second phase of its Cora EPPM solution.
Arriving back in Ireland, Minister Pat Breen TD said: “My aim on this Trade Mission with Enterprise Ireland was to highlight Ireland as a key hub for innovative life sciences solutions and to create opportunities for Irish companies to engage and increase their sales to the region. Our indigenous life sciences sector has successfully continued to grow over the last two decades and now exports more than €50 billion annually. Approximately 700 medtech companies are based in the Twin Cities area and we conducted meetings which facilitated the creation of contacts and business relationships. I wish the companies every success with pursuing the opportunities that have been developed over the past week”.
Kevin Sherry, Executive Director Global Business Development at Enterprise Ireland, who accompanied the Minister on the Trade Mission added: “Irish medtech companies have demonstrated the capability to compete and win successfully in international markets such as the US. This Trade Mission is part of Enterprise’s Ireland’s broad drive to increase the export market penetration of Irish companies post Brexit. Growing indigenous Irish companies on a global scale is a key element of Enterprise Ireland’s strategy and Trade Missions, like this Life Sciences one, play a major role in promoting Ireland’s world-class goods and services abroad. This visit to the Twin Cities hub highlighted the significant opportunities that exist for Irish Life Sciences companies and we look forward to working with them as they build on the connections created and scale their businesses in the US”.
Life Sciences companies from counties Dublin, Galway, Louth, Cork, Leitrim, Sligo, Westmeath, Clare and Waterford took part in the Trade Mission.
Ends
For further information:
Conor O’Donovan, Head of Communications, Tel: 01 7272912 conor.odonovan@enterprise-ireland.com
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