Programme

Health expenditures are expected to increase to USD 11.0 trillion by 2030. In this session senior life sciences executives will discuss how leaders are responding to healthcare challenges by leveraging a mix of physical products, digital technologies and advanced analytics to link different moments in the care journey –  improving outcomes for patients, health care providers and health systems. Many medtech companies are now future proofing their R&D departments towards complete care solutions and services. Our panellists will share their unique perspective on how they see the ecosystem evolving utilising greater data, connectivity, partnerships and the importance of building capability. The session will also discuss how to get started, and some of the challenges that are likely to emerge. Finally the speakers will  discuss how to get started, and some of the challenges that are likely to emerge. e group will discuss some high The panel will close out with a discussion on policies and supports needed to unlock a new formula for success here.

Chair: Anton Savage, Broadcaster and Journalist

Panel:

• Bernard O’Connor, Vice President Global Advanced Operations, Stryker
• John O’Brien, CEO, S3 Connected Health
• Sinead Keogh, Head of Sectors, Director, Medtech & Engineering, Ibec
• David Uffer, Vice President, Medtech General Inception
• Matt Moran, Director, BioPharamChem Ireland

Clinical research enables innovators to develop and deploy medtech. The importance of clinical research to the broader national social and economic agenda has been acknowledged in a number of Government strategies, and as such the Government has continued to invest in critical infrastructure to support same.  In this session “Ireland as a location for clinical research” the expert panel will discuss the Irish clinical research ecosystem, including accessing clinical research centres of excellence, the national research ethics infrastructure, as well as ecosystem supports to get you started. Medtech leaders will share their experience of doing clinical research within the Irish ecosystem, and why Ireland could be your location of choice to conduct clinical research. Finally the panel will discuss measures to further enhance the ecosystem here.

Chair: Olive O’Driscoll, Clinical Industry Liaison Officer Founder and Director at AventaMed

Panel:

• Emma Meade, Director of Clinical Research at Neuromod Devices
• Lucia Prihodova, Programme Manager at National Office for Research Ethics Committees
• Andrea Sauerland, Vice President, Clinical Operations, Endotronix

Global economies are at points of inflection. Rampant inflation, full employment labour markets, retreat of globalisation towards autonomy, sustainability of social models clashing with environmental sustainability objectives given unprecedented challenges for business.

Leaders address the competing objectives of sustaining their businesses whilst underpinning competitiveness requires a reappraisal of the ESG agenda to ensure its long-term ambitions are not thrown of course by short term pressures from tightening monetary policy and energy supply shocks.

The role of developing a new social compact to reflect stakeholder capitalism requires dealing with demands for greater collectivism in the form of social issues mediated in the workplace with higher employer costs and collective bargaining rights. Business leaders thinking needs inflection too to reshape the future of a disembodied economy of the future.

Chair: Anton Savage, Broadcaster and Journalist

Panel:

• Danny McCoy, CEO, Ibec

The new EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR), which came into effect 26 May 2021, represents the greatest change for the regulatory system in over 20 years. While the medtech industry is a proven supporter of the EU MDR’s goals, and has invested significantly into the transition process, major implementation challenges exist. The speakers will examine the impact of EU MDR on the industry particularly the SME and start up community. The panel will review the US regulatory system and the predictability it now offers. The unintended consequences of MDR on patients and physicians’ access to medtech particularly orphan devices will be examined. Senior leaders will also outline the advocacy work through the Irish Medtech Association and Medtech Europe, which is seeking a fit for purpose regulatory system and pragmatic solutions to the immediate challenges. The speakers will discuss the longer-term strategy required to ensure that Ireland remains a global medtech hub.

Chair: John Kilmartin, Vice-President of Regulatory Affairs, Medtronic

Panel:

• Dr Niall MacAleenan, Director, Medical Devices, HPRA
• John O’Dea, CEO, Palliare
• Tom Melvin, Associate Professor of Medical Device Regulatory Affairs, Trinity College Dublin
• Olga Van Grol-lawlor, Manager Global Regulatory Intelligence & Advocacy, Boston Scientific
• Dr Emer Sherry, Senior Executive, Irish Medtech Association

Healthcare is a decade behind other industries in digitalising according to the OECD. For Ireland’s health system to advance the HSE has embarked on a major digital transformation journey that is coordinated and is deployed across the ecosystem. As part of this work to modernise healthcare and foster collaboration with public-private-people partnerships, these user-centred environments facilitate open innovation and help integrate concurrent research and innovation process. Hear from senior leaders and physicians working collaboratively with industry, both large and small, on the deployment of digitally driven innovation. In particular, learn how the Living Labs are helping to co-create, pilot, test, and socialise new digital solutions which improve patient care and quality of life, reduce cost and improve clinician experience. The Living Labs will help Ireland become a European digital health leader in the years ahead with significantly better outcomes for Irish patients. Find out what steps you need to take to get access and realise this opportunity for your business and patients based here.

Chair: Anton Savage, Broadcaster and Journalist

Panel:

• Prof Martin Curley, Director, Digital Transformation, HSE
• Prof Richard Costello, Professor of Respiratory Medicine, Chair Education Council ERS
• Dr Michael Sugrue, Surgeon, Letterkenny Hospital and Galway University Hospital

The greatest challenge for talent management for HR as they plan for the year ahead is the availability of talent and skills (89%) according to the Ibec HR Update 2022 on “Workplace trends and insights”. Moreover, it advises that the increasingly tight labour market justifies measures to retain and develop talent. In the area of ‘diversity and inclusion’, nearly two thirds (63%) of respondents said they’d gender balance and equal opportunities policies, nearly half (45%) had racial ethnic and cultural diversity policies, and more than one in four (28%) said that they had LGBTQI+ initiatives. With more senior leaders recognising the importance of diversity and inclusion, why do some initiatives falter fast while others deliver long-term impact? In this session, senior leaders will explore the importance of creating a culture of belonging that achieves real inclusion without alienating individuals in under-represented groups to build a better talent pipeline.

Chair: Ciara Finlay, Senior Executive, Irish Medtech Association

Panel:

• Jackie Murphy, Site Head and General Manager, Alcon Ireland
• Conor Russell, Vice President, Operations, Boston Scientific
• Ruth Faller, Vice President, Corporate Strategy, Equinix

Two and a half years into a global pandemic, companies are continuing to navigate challenges with supply chain issues impacting the availability of parts and components for medical devices globally. The Russian war in Ukraine has further compounded the issue, with rising energy costs and security damaging Europe’s competitiveness globally. In this panel we will hear from experts covering global trade and energy policy as well as lessons learned from supply chain professionals who have and are navigating challenging this complex environment.

Chair: Pauline O’Flanagan, Director, Engineering Industries Ireland

Panel:

• Neil Walker, Head of Infrastructure, Energy and Environment and Transport, Ibec
• Pat Ivory, Director of EU and International Affairs, Ibec
• Garrett Murray, Head of Life Sciences, Enterprise Ireland
• Paul Toomey, National Sales Manager & Healthcare Lead, Kuehne + Nagel

Founders play a vital role in thriving innovative ecosystems. Founder-led enterprises are the nuclei of innovation and progress. These businesses come in a lot of different shapes and sizes, from early-stage ventures to high-growth scaleups, to multinationals and curating the surrounding ecosystem required at each stage is fundamental for their success. Founders in Ireland have a successful track record for founding high-growth, innovative, businesses, across many sectors of the Irish economy. However, they won’t survive without financial backing: venture capital firms, angel investors, funding instruments/grants (private and government) and partnerships all have their place within an ecosystem. Hear from senior leaders including investors and experienced innovators and entrepreneurs about  current investment sentiment and what to watch out for.

Welcome: Adrienne McDonnell, Senior Executive, Irish Medtech Association

Chair: Filip Moriau, CEO, Straglion Lab

Panel:

• Barry Comerford, Advisory Board Member, Freudenburg Medical; Co-founder & CEO Cambus Medical and Founder, Sauleen Holdings
• Dr Sadhana Trivedi, Global Medical Director, 3M Health Care
• Matthew Gilbert, Executive Director, XMS Capital Partners
• Jennifer McMahon, Partner, Seroba Life Sciences

Irish manufacturing boasts more than 4,000 businesses which employ more than 260,000 and accounts for a quarter of our economic output, with medtech one of the leading manufacturing sectors based here. Changes in consumer demand and the emergence of “connected” products, along with evolving business models impacting production and distribution, are pushing manufacturers to explore new ways to create value. The future of manufacturing is underpinned by automation and the digitalisation of workflows. Sensors, software, robots, and cobots, all connected seamlessly in a physical-meets-virtual world. Hear how senior business leaders are unleashing the power of data to fuel their business transformation goals and how 5G which will enable next generation connectivity to support innovation and business transformation on a scale never seen before. We will also learn how to build next generation talent which will underpin the factory of the future.

Chair: Anton Savage, Journalist & Broadcaster

Panel: 

• Steve Mai, Chief Growth Officer, Accenture Industry X | Founder, Eclipse Automation
• Aidan Connelly, Idiro Analytics, CEO
• Ann O’Connell, Head of Medtech & Engineering Funded Projects, Ibec

Medtech is arguably the most innovative sector in Europe with more than 14,200 patent applications were filed with the European Patent Office (EPO) in 2020, representing a 2.6% growth compared with the previous year. The Irish medtech community has been a driver of this innovation with patents granted to Irish companies almost doubling from 2017 to 2020 making it stand out as fifth in the world for medical patents, per capita. This expert panel will discuss how to encourage, foster and promote innovation in an organisation, and the importance of linking to commercial.

Chair: Nigel Jones, Non-Executive Director, Chair, Audit & Risk Committee, Versono Medical

Panel:

• Berthtranda Marie Denby, General Manager, Anesthesia, Emergency Medicine, Tracheostomy & Respiratory, Teleflex
• Michael Gilvarry, General Manager at Johnson & Johnson, Cerenovus
• Diarmuid Meagher, Director of Research and Development, Abbott

As sectors move to embrace the circular economy, companies are left trying to ascertain the concrete steps needed to make that future a reality. Companies are realising the substantial financial and environmental benefits from sustainable business practices. Being proactive and navigating the tsunami of legislation coming down the tracks, will be part of the transition and will mitigate the risk of firms being left behind by their competitors. The European Union has an ambition of reducing carbon emissions by 55 % by the year 2030, strengthening the resilience and sustainability of the EU economy. Stakeholders right across society must work together to ensure we meet this goal in the most effective and impactful way possible. In this session, the speakers from right across the ecosystem including hospitals, finished product manufacturers and suppliers will explore how the medtech ecosystem is working together to support measures that impact the circular transition. With expert advice on everything from the future of sustainable medtech procurement to the planet as our patient.

Chair: Anton Savage, Broadcaster and Journalist

Panel:

• Jonathan E Slutzman, MD, Director, Centre for Environment and Health, Medical Director for Environmental sustainability, Massachusetts General Hospital
• John Magner, Global leader in Energy and Sustainable Operations, Johnson & Johnson
• Andrea Cawley, Commercial Director, Automatic Plastics

Did you know that you could sell a €50 note for many times its face value? Or that a person you’re physically attracted to may not be as smart or as funny as you think? Or that the expressions you use to frame your innovative ideas can either guarantee their success or failure?

All these things are called cognitive biases and they rule your life without you even knowing it. Here we will look at the four most prominent ones that effect your project, your product, or your business and show you how to interpret them to frame your ideas for the future you deserve.

At Medtech Rising 2022, this is the one presentation you won’t want to miss!

Speaker:

• Peter Turley, Professional Speaker & Trainer

This new session has been developed by the Irish Medtech Association in line with its new strategy The Global Medtech Hub, launched earlier this year. The session presents an opportunity for start-ups and scale ups to showcase the best of innovative technology solutions and business models to potential business partners, large multi-national corporations or investors. MedTech Connect provides a platform for SME’s to get noticed for future collaborations or investment, and will run in parallel to Medtech Rising, which attracts an audience of world-class leaders and decision-makers in the medtech ecosystem.

Start-up showcase

• Atlantic Therapeutics
• Invera Medical
• Joii Ltd
• PumpinHeart
• Wellola