A NEW spin-out from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) aims to tap Ireland’s growing medical device expertise to generate and commercialise healthcare technology solutions.
i360medical, which was launched by Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation Richard Bruton yesterday, will replace the Centre for Innovation in Surgical Technology, based within the college since 2008.
The company will act as a channel between the traditionally separate healthcare, clinical, academic and business sectors, to develop and commercialise new ideas.
It aims to act as an international and national innovation enabler and hub that has all the expertise necessary to take new healthcare ideas and medical technologies to market, according to founder and chief executive Derek Young.
The business employs six staff, but expects to expand to 20 by the end of 2013.
Speaking at the launch yesterday, Mr Bruton said the health sector was one of the great growth sectors right across Europe and around the world.
“The RCSI has recognised the need to bring together the medical device sector with clinicians and investors to innovate. This is an economy that has to make a transition. There is an urgency to innovate.”
Mr Young said the idea behind the company was to improve patient care, drive down the costs of the health system and encourage innovation within the healthcare sector.
“Everyone had ideas on how to improve patient care through existing technology and new technologies but no forum existed to develop them.
“i360medical aims to provide the right environment to allow clinicians, healthcare professionals, engineers and researchers to identify unmet needs and develop relevant new technology solutions.
“We have devised a model that will support the development of new medical device and healthcare solutions from their conception to commercialisation.”
The company has set up relations with a number of leading education and research institutions including the Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic in the US, St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney and medical technology development company Synecor.
Speaking at the launch yesterday, Richard Stack, managing director of Synecor and managing director of US-based venture capital firm Synergy, said the firm would be launching Synergy II in Ireland within the coming weeks.
The firm will start with a $150 million (€115 million) fund to invest in medical device and healthcare technology companies here.
He also gave a commitment to form 10 new companies in Ireland within the next two years, creating “hundreds of jobs in the medical devices sector”. He said the first company, Neurotronik Ltd, was founded two weeks ago.
“In the medical tech industry there are two countries in the world that really stand out. One is Ireland; the other is Singapore,” he said.
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