A dozen years of outstanding innovation

Groundbreaking therapies for hard-to-treat illnesses, solutions for internet congestion, more efficient building systems, novel water treatment systems, and a blockchain-based secure charity donation solution.

These are just a few of the winning inventions which have taken the top honour at the Irish Times Innovation Awards since their inception in 2010.

The very first award went to Sigmoid Pharma – now Sublimity Therapeutics. Founded by pharmacologist and entrepreneur Ivan Coulter, the company won the award for its development of two new drug technologies, both of which can enhance drug solubility and permeability while also permitting targeted delivery to the site in the body where the drug is required.

The result is a convenient, safe and effective product that can convert vaccines and injections to an oral pill format.

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Healthcare has been strongly represented over the years and 2020 winner HidraMed Solutions took the award for its novel dressing system aimed at those suffering from the incurable skin disease, Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS).

Founder Suzanne Moloney suffers from HS and used her personal knowledge to design adhesive-free dressings to fit into a range of specially created underwear.

Also in the life sciences field, Atlantic Therapeutics took the 2019 award for its non-invasive, clinically proven technological solution for sufferers of urinary incontinence.

The Innovo is a wearable device similar to cycling shorts which provides an effective therapy to strengthen the pelvic floor. It works by compressing and releasing the pelvic floor 180 time during a half-hour session. This has the effect of strengthening and rebuilding the muscles helping them retake control of bladder function over a number of weeks.

Another winner in the healthcare area took the 2012 award. Gabriel Scientific won for its hermetically-sealed pillow that is a highly effective barrier to bugs and bacteria yet breathable and comfortable. The pillow utilises a highly specialised micro-porous membrane laminate normally used as a purifying filter in heart stents to achieve this result.

The humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought into sharp relief the need for safe, secure aid donation systems. 2018 winner Aid:Tech 2018 developed a solution which offers a secure means to deliver aid and other benefits to people around the world who might have had no bank account or legal identity in the form of a social security number or equivalent.

The Aid:Tech platform allows for the creation of a secure identity for an aid or welfare recipient which is stored on a blockchain ledger and can’t be subsequently altered or erased. Aid in the form of vouchers or actual cash can be sent via the platform completely securely with an unalterable record of receipt thus helping address corruption and improve efficiency.

Another highly topical past winner in light of the Covid-19 pandemic was Kastus. The company took the 2017 award for its pioneering antimicrobial coating which kills 99.99 per cent of harmful bacteria and superbugs such as E.Coli and MRSA. The invention has applications for any frequently touched surfaces such as touch screens, keyboards, smartphones, door handles, kitchen and bathroom surfaces and so on.

Highly advanced

The 2016 winner Arralis took the honours for its highly advanced 94GHz frequency band chipset which can dramatically improve the performance of aerospace and satellite guidance systems. It is also uniquely well suited to meeting the onboard radar requirements of the emerging autonomous car industry.

Also in the communications space, Intune Networks won the 2011 award for a breakthrough technology that will meet future network traffic demands and help reduce congestion caused by the rapid increase in internet usage.

Panelduct, winner in 2015, came up with a highly ingenious solution to a decades-old problem for the construction industry. The Panelduct system is a flat pack solution comprising prefabricated and pre-insulated galvanised steel panels which are clipped together on site to form ventilation ducting systems.

Users save time and money as they no longer have to transport bulk ducting to sites before adding insulation and weatherproofing.

In 2014 the top award was claimed by Oxymem for its water treatment technology which represented the first serious advance in more than a century in this vitally important area. The OxyMem solution uses gas permeable membranes capable of providing oxygen directly to bacteria for aerobic biological processes, resulting in up to a four-fold energy saving.

The 2013 winner Trustwater developed a unique system to clean production lines in bottling plants that dramatically reduces energy and water usage. The company’s innovative rapid electro-chemical activation (ECA) changeover protocol reduces production changeover times to 20 minutes from up to five hours previously.