Industry & Business

A delegation of 20 Irish companies, led by Enterprise Ireland and Minister for Employment and Small Business Pat Breen, participated in the 2017 edition of Arab Health, which took place at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre from January 30 to February 2.

One participating company, Fleming Medical, signed a distribution agreement with Muscat Pharmacy to distribute its products in Oman at the conference. The deal represents a value of €1.1 million over the next three years and builds on the company’s strategy to grow its presence in the Middle East.

Enterprise Ireland, the government organisation responsible for the development and growth of Irish companies in global markets, hosted an exhibition and facilitated attendance for leading Irish healthcare companies at this year’s Arab Health, including Aerogen, AmRay Medical, CF Pharma Ireland Ltd., Crospon, Fleming Medical Ltd., IPC Polymers, Kastus Technology, Locatible, Miravex Ltd.,Novaerus, Sedana Medical Ltd., Synchrophi Systems Ltd. and 3D4 Medical.

The Enterprise Ireland exhibition featured healthcare solutions ranging from improved drug delivery systems, innovative medical devices, new digital health technologies and cutting-edge pharmaceutical products.

Notable achievements at this year’s Arab Health included:

• Locatible, a real-time locating system to improve healthcare delivery, opened a new regional office;
• Aerogen, the world’s leading manufacturer & distributor of aerosol drug delivery systems, received awards for its patented vibrating mesh technology as well as established new partners across the region; and
• Kastus Technology showcased its effective and practical anti-microbial solutions for indoor environments in healthcare facilities
• 3D4 Medical demonstrated how its medical learning applications can be easily utilized by patients, students medical professionals and educators around the world.

“The continued expansion of the healthcare sector in the Middle East offers a number of exciting opportunities for Irish companies, who are among the global leaders in life sciences, medical technology and digital heath,” Breen said. “Our participation at Arab Health each year is demonstrative of Ireland’s commitment and contribution to the ambitious growth objectives of this important industry. We look forward to building on this year’s success to further develop our businesses and relationships in the Middle East.

Minister Breen also took part in a number of engagements to build on the strong relationship Enterprise Ireland has with healthcare institutions and government bodies in the UAE including; Neuro Spinal Hospital, the Dubai Health Authority, Abu Dhabi Health Services, and VPS Healthcare Group – a healthcare provider with a network of hospitals, medical centres, pharmaceutical manufacturing and pharmacy retailers globally. In addition, Minister Breen visited with Dubai EXPO 2020 and senior representatives of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority to progress ongoing discussions.

Tom Kelly, Divisional Manager of Lifesciences at Enterprise Ireland, said the trade visit was one of 40 international events to help Irish companies identify new markets for their products and services. He pointed out that there is already a high volume of trade between Ireland and the UAE with exports from Irish companies exceeding €124M in 2015.

“Ireland has a well-developed life sciences sector for which we see growth opportunities in the Gulf region,” Kelly said. “We are keen to use Arab Health as an opportunity to promote Ireland to potential healthcare buyers and invite them to attend MedinIreland – Ireland’s largest medtech event – in October 2017. Helping Irish companies identify new markets for their products and services is part of Enterprise Ireland’s strategy to enable our clients to build scale and expand global reach as part of our response to the UK’s decision to leave the EU.”