Mary Harney to join HealthBeacon board of directors

Irish digital therapeutics company HealthBeacon has named former tánaiste and minister of health Mary Harney as a director.

Ms Harney, who was also previously leader of the Progressive Democrats political party, is one of two new board appointments by the company.

Keeshia Muhammad, a former director of marketing, strategy and planning at UPMC Health Plan, will also join the board.

Ms Harney, who currently serves as chancellor of University of Limerick, is also a director and adviser to a number of other pharmaceutical, healthcare and technology companies. Ms Muhammad, meanwhile, has previously been named among the "top 100 most inspiring people in pharma".

Indemnifying vaccines makes for a sick health system

---

Covid-19 vaccine makers lobby EU for legal protection

---

EU concludes talks with Moderna to supply Covid-19 vaccine

---

Johnson and Johnson to buy biotech Momenta in $6.5bn deal

---

"We are excited to welcome Mary and Keeshia to our board of directors. They bring true healthcare leadership, a passion for innovation and a real shared vision with HealthBeacon on how healthcare needs to innovate by leveraging technology and becoming patient centric in its delivery, said Jim Joyce, chief executive and co-founder.

HealthBeacon was earlier this month named as an official supplier to the National Health Service in the UK, a move the company said would be a big boost for the business.

It has developed a technology platform that helps patients adhere to their medication schedule with digital reminders.

The company’s flagship product is a smart sharps bin for use by patients who inject medication at home. The bin is digitally connected to an individual’s smartphone and is used for the disposal of injector pens and syringes, as well as to track individual patients’ adherence to medication regimes and to remind them to stay on track if necessary.

HealthBeacon, a former finalist in The Irish Times Innovation Awards, has raised €12 million to date with backers including SGInnovate, a private company owned by the Singapore government. Other investors include Manatt Health, BVP, Elkstone Partners and Bill McCabe's Oyster Capital.

The group is seeking to raise €3 million-€5 million and expects to close the new round in September.