Ireland's Taoiseach Enda Kenny, TD
Ireland-based company i360medical has formed a strategic partnership with US academic medical centre Cleveland Clinic and its Innovation Alliance, establishing an innovation link between Europe and the US.
Under the partnership, i360medical will represent the European wing of Cleveland Clinic’s Innovation Alliance programme, which includes North Shore LIJ, MedStar Health, Promedica and Notre Dame.
The clinic will also make a financial investment in i360medical – the first time it has venture invested in an enterprise outside of the US.
i360medical was initially established under the guidance of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) where it operated for four years as the Centre for Innovation in Surgical Technology (CIST).
The i360medical and Cleveland Clinic partnership followed introductions brokered by Enterprise Ireland, which has worked with Cleveland Clinic for several years in fostering strategic alliances between the clinic and Irish life sciences companies and research bodies.
“I strongly welcome this latest successful outcome of the relationship that exists between Ireland and the Cleveland Clinic,” Ireland’s Taoiseach Enda Kenny, TD, said while at an event at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.
“Healthcare and life sciences is a sector that holds particular potential for growth and job creation and is a key sector in the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs.
“This latest alliance is further endorsement of the international calibre of Ireland’s indigenous healthcare sector. The Government, through Enterprise Ireland, is keen to support and promote more strategic international collaborations such as this one to enhance innovation and generate break-through research.”
What the partnership means
Derek Young, founder and CEO of i360medical said the partnership with Cleveland Clinic and by becoming part of Cleveland’s extended family, the Innovation Alliance Program benefits all participants.
“It allows collaboration in healthcare innovation, which will facilitate the development of technology and innovative ideas, ensuring introduction into both European and United States markets,” Young said.
“It will also immediately extend i360medical’s footprint into the US and gives i360medical access to support a significant number of large healthcare groups across the United States.
“For Cleveland Clinic healthcare partners and companies, i360medical can support them from offices in Cleveland and Dublin and efficiently expand their reach by making Ireland their European and rest-of-world launchpad,” Young added.
Chris Coburn, executive director of Cleveland Clinic Innovations, said Cleveland Clinic’s Innovation Alliance is a new model for how healthcare systems, universities and companies can work together to accelerate the development of patient-centred medical technology.
