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Fleming Medical has agreed a deal to distribute medical devices in Oman, growing its presence in the Middle East.
A €1.1m deal with Muscat Pharmacy saw Fleming Medical emerge as one of the big beneficiaries from Enterprise Ireland’s trip to Arab Health 2017.
The medtech deal is part of the Limerick-based company’s strategy to boost its presence in the Middle East.
20 companies were brought over from Ireland in total.
Locatible, a real-time locating system to improve healthcare delivery, opened a new regional office during the trip, while aerosol company Aerogen landed awards for its vibrating mesh technology.
Other companies included Kastus Technology and 3D4Medical, the latter enjoying significant developments in recent years.
Tom Kelly, divisional manager at Enterprise Ireland, noted the €124m in exports from Irish companies to the UAE in 2015 as a reason for such trade missions.
“Ireland has a well-developed life sciences sector for which we see growth opportunities in the Gulf region,” he said.
Kelly hinted that the Arab market has increased in significance now that UK has decided to leave the EU, with Enterprise Ireland aiding Irish companies in identifying new markets for their products and services.
Medtech is booming in Ireland at the moment. Just a few days ago, Dr Nora Khaldi – founder of Irish start-up Nuritas – was awarded the Woman of the Decade in Business and Leadership Award at the recent Women Economic Forum.
Elsewhere, UCC recently signed a licensing agreement to commercialise a surgical medical device to Skellig Surgical.
Designed to manipulate organs that obscure and limit the ability to perform keyhole surgery, SecuRetract was developed through the work of dozens of surgeons over four years of research. The prize-winning device uses clever engineering to improve the surgical process.
“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,” said Pat Breen, Minister for Employment and Small Business, TD.
“Our participation at Arab Health each year is demonstrative of Ireland’s commitment and contribution to the ambitious growth objectives of this important industry.”
