Irish Medical Devices Association

BioInnovate has recruited the next two elite, multidisciplinary teams for the start of the 2012 Fellowship programme which commences in August this year. The Fellowship teams will be immersed in a medical device innovation microclimate and connected to Biomedical Engineering, Product Design, Clinical, Finance and Business expertise. Dr. Mark Bruzzi, Programme Director commented “the standard of applications and competition for the Fellowship teams this year was very high with interest expressed from as far as India and China which demonstrates the excitement and appetite that exists amongst the Irish and international med tech environment for this type of programme”.

The Clinical focus for the 2012 Fellowship programme is Urology and Radiation Therapy with both NUI Galway and the University of Limerick hosting the 2012 teams. Professor Tim McGloughlin from UL added "We are delighted to host a BioInnovate Fellowship Team at the University of Limerick. This programme can transform the product development process in medical device technology while creating exciting new business opportunities by linking the academic and clinical environment to one of Ireland's most vibrant industrial sectors."

Professor Frank Sullivan, Director of the Prostate Cancer Institute, NUI Galway, and Lead Clinician, Deaprtment of Radiation Oncology, Galway University Hospital, welcomed the recruitment of this year’s teams. “The ability to look at the clinical problems we face on a daily basis, with a fresh perspective, is highly appealing. The prospects for novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches have never been greater in both the fields of surgery and radiation oncology. We hope to focus the 2012 BioInnovate Fellows on the opportunity of developing exciting new therapies for prostate cancer. Ireland has the highest incidence of prostate cancer in Europe, and GUH in partnership with the PCI, are very excited to have individuals of such high calibre to work with.”

The current Fellowship teams are progressing their output of the 2011-12 programme with both the NUI Galway and the DCU team focusing on developing and commercialising their concepts by summer 2012. As well as the Fellowship programme, the BioInnovate postgraduate class, full time postgraduate students together with industry participants, will close on 02^nd May 2012. The two postgraduate modules which were delivered across Ireland offer a compact version of the Fellowship programme with BioInnovate I focusing on ‘From Clinical Need to Solution Concept’ and BioInnovate Class II focusing on ‘From Concept to Business Plan’. These modules are successful in transferring the learning and sharing the knowledge of the 2011 Fellows as well as the networking and mentoring received by the BioInnovate postgraduate multi-disciplinary teams.

BioInnovate Ireland will have achieved its primary output with the next generation of specially trained Fellows and skill graduates emerging this summer. This wealth of Med Tech BioInnovate talent will add value to the med tech market place over the coming months and we look forward to sharing the commercial opportunities and proposals as a result of the current Fellowship programme in May 2011. The BioInnovate Ireland programme, which combines multi disciplinary backgrounds, is leading to enhanced identification of clinical problems, higher quality of invention and improved translation to better patient care. BioInnovate is a unique opportunity to:

• Experience an intensive clinical immersion in our teaching hospitals
• Identify potential medical device development opportunities
• Avail of the expert advice, direction and guidance from dedicated industrial mentors and serial entrepreneurs

For further information, please contact Clodagh Barry, BioInnovate Programme Manager at NUI Galway, on 091 494212 or Clodagh.barry@nuigalway.ie Keep up to date with BioInnovate by joining our LinkedIn Group.