Enterprise Ireland
Annual Report and Accounts 2007
Annual Report and Accounts 2007
Enterprise Ireland’s Medical Devices Advisory Board (MDAB) actively supports the development and sustainability of clients in the US.
Set up in 2006, the MDAB is made up of high-profile sector leaders, financial experts, CEOs and company presidents, amalgamating a vast range of experience and contacts in the US market. Its members have individually guided an array of successful businesses in the global Medical Devices arena.
The board advises and mentors Enterprise Ireland clients operating in the sector through strategy development, brokering introductions and providing touchstone advice on market entry, emerging trends, technology potential and access to venture capital.
Meeting around four times a year in both the US and Ireland, the MDAB evaluates company presentations, builds relationships and attends trade and networking events with or on clients’ behalf.
One company the MDAB has recently worked with is Ash Technologies, which designs and manufactures innovative aids for people with partial sight. The board recently advised the Kildare company on its US distribution plan and model to gain maximum penetration for its products.
Hugh Maguire, co-founder of the Medical Devices company, says: “It’s extremely valuable to have such high quality expertise and knowledge on the ground, providing validation for our product, company and plans. The board worked with us to identify better routes to our US market and the indications are that we’ll be able to raise our market share substantially.”
As the premier resource group for supporting Irish Medical Devices companies in the US, the board organises interactive educational forums for clients to share experiences and resources. It also provides job-matching services for potential management level employees and exposure to the network of services available to the medtech community. “We basically help Enterprise Ireland companies open up a business beach-head in the US,” says board member Dan McNulty, a medical devices executive with over 25 years’ senior management experience in both the US and Europe.
“We tell Irish Medical Devices entrepreneurs we’re on call to support you at the early stages of your company conceptualisation, formation and development. We can help you create a strategy to take your product into the US market and then help you build a sustainable presence.
“We are really impressed with the technology and the ideas coming out of Ireland. Ash Technologies, more than capable of growing its US market share by 20 or even 50 per cent, is just one of many.”
The MDAB is one of six sector-specific advisory boards established by Enterprise Ireland to help accelerate clients’ internationalisation.
