Freudenberg Medical named Medtech Company of the Year Award 2024

Irish Medtech, the Ibec group that represents the medtech sector, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland today revealed the winners of the Irish Medtech Awards 2024, which are held as part of Medtech Rising, 5 December, in The Galmont, Galway.

Dr Eoghan Ó Faoláin, Irish Medtech Director, said, “Congratulations to all the winners at the Irish Medtech Awards 2024. I’m delighted to announce that this year’s Medtech Company of the Year is Freudenberg Medical, a contract manufacturer of choice, employing over 1,000 people in Ireland with sites in Leitrim and Galway, with 350 new jobs announced over the past 14 months. Freudenberg Medical specialises in electrophysiology devices, which measure the heart’s electrical activity. These devices are used every two minutes in life changing treatment, and one in four ablation procedures, for irregular heartbeats, globally are supported by them. Not only are they serving patients worldwide, Freudenberg Medical is transforming healthcare by reducing training time for new operators by 75% through the deployment of augmented/virtual reality technology and “gamified” training.”

Barry Regan, Vice President and General Manager of Freudenberg Medical’s Co. Leitrim facility in Carrick-on-Shannon, said: “This award celebrates the innovative mindset of our teams at Freudenberg Medical , from successful customer collaborations to deliver transformative medical devices to our investments in smart manufacturing, VR training, and AI-powered planning tools. Our teams are passionate about their responsibility to deliver high-quality products that improve patient care, and this recognition is a testament to their dedication.”

Eoghan added, “As a leader in medtech employment in Europe, the Best Talent Strategy in Medtech Award is a particularly competitive category. Johnson & Johnson MedTech stood out this year. The Cork site which is known for manufacturing joint replacement products, was established in 1997, and employs 2,300 people. Standout initiatives include, the STEM Academy Early in Career Program which has already impacted over 60,000 students, its women in STEM and manufacturing  initiative (WiSTEM2D), as well as its participation in Ibec’s manufacturing engineering apprenticeship program (level 8).”

“As an industry devoted to improving lives, another vital award to help the industry achieve its goals is the Sustainable Medtech Company of the Year Award, which was won by Stryker. Each of Stryker’s sites in Ireland have an established Stryker Environmental Alliance (SEA) chapter to reduce energy and carbon emissions while increasing awareness of its environmental impact with events for Annual Earth Day and World Bee Day, along with more ambitious projects like their Wind Turbine Development Plan.

Ciara Finlay, Senior Executive, Irish Medtech, praised, “Medtech improves lives through their use for the prevention, diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of conditions with more than 500,000 different types of products from glasses to surgical robots. The Best Diversity and Representation Company Initiative Award recognises the importance of better reflecting the people the sector serves. Stryker won thanks to its dedication to its approach for maximizing the power of diverse backgrounds, talents, and perspectives through both employee engagement and community outreach. Stryker Ireland has accelerating its diversity journey by holding leaders accountable, developing people and processes, attracting diverse talent, and advancing employee resource groups.

John Nugent, Department Manager, Medical Technologies and Healthcare Services, IDA Ireland said, "A unique strength of Ireland's medtech ecosystem is our ability to collaborate. This year's Collaboration in Medtech Award goes to the University of Galway for their Medtronic Signature Innovation Partnership. In 2023, the University of Galway and Medtronic initiated a five-year, €5 million Signature Innovation Partnership. This partnership includes investment in the University's Medtech infrastructure, encompassing clinical trials resources, campus-wide STEM outreach programs that promote diversity, and support for research through early-stage seed funding for joint projects."

He continued, “Boston Scientific Cork, winner of the Best Process-Product Innovation in Medtech Award, exemplifies cutting-edge organisations that drive innovations from Ireland. Boston Scientific Cork is one of three Irish sites for this global leader, the Cork site which opened in 1998, employs over 1,700 people, and is known for research, development and manufacturing excellence. Boston Scientific Cork was recognised for its novel peripheral vascular Embold device, designed for minimally invasive procedures to stop blood flow. The development was led by a team the Cork site working in partnership across Boston Scientifics global operations.”

Cepta Duffy, Department Manager for Industry & Lifesciences High Potential Start-Ups at Enterprise Ireland, said, “Ireland’s global medtech hub is bolstered by dynamic start-ups. This years’ Emerging Medtech Company of the Year Award is LUMA Vision, a groundbreaking start-up headquartered in Dublin with an office in Munich, Germany. Its dedicated team of 60 experts are revolutionising cardiac procedures by creating state-of-the-art hardware, software, and data science solutions. Their flagship product, VERAFEYE™ is an innovative, all-in-one 4D navigation and imaging platform specifically designed for cardiology to deliver personalised surgical solutions with unprecedented data delivered at the point of therapy.

She continued, “Freudenberg Medical has really stood out at the Irish Medtech Awards winning two categories. With 15 years of trusted partnerships with leading electrophysiology customers that represent more than 60% of the total global market for catheter-based EP solutions it is a worthy Medtech Partner/Supplier of the Year Award Winner shipping more than 16 million complex catheters each year from its Irish operations”.

Ireland is regarded as a leading global health tech hub and the Digital Health Innovation of the Year Award reflects an increasingly important segment. This year’s winner Galenband is a Galway-based medtech company transforming cardiac diagnostics with a revolutionary wearable electrocardiogram (ECG) device designed to detect the abnormal heart rhythms that lead to stroke. Unlike traditional short-term monitoring devices or invasive implantable solutions, Galenband offers continuous, diagnostic-quality ECG monitoring for up to 90 days without the need for recharging or adhesives.

Eoghan concluded, “A special award for the industry is Irish Medtech’s Outstanding Contribution to Medtech Award for a recognised leader who’ve helped advance the sector here. Dr Sinéad Keogh received this prestigious accolade for her service as the Director of the Ibec Medtech and Engineering Group for over a decade. In addition to this role, she also contributed to the Advisory Industry Board BioInnovate Ireland, and the Irish Photonic Integration Centre (IPIC), and MedTech Europe’s National Associations Committee.”

• Medtech Company of the Year Award: Freudenberg Medical
• Emerging Medtech Company of the Year Award: LUMA Vision
• Best Process-Product Innovation in Medtech Award: Boston Scientific Cork
• Digital Health Innovation of the Year Award: Galenband
• Collaboration in Medtech Award: University of Galway and Medtronic Signature Innovation Partnership
• Medtech Partner/Supplier of the Year Award: Freudenberg Medical
• Sustainable Medtech Company of the Year Award: Stryker Ireland
• Best Talent Strategy in Medtech Award: Johnson & Johnson MedTech
• Best Diversity and Representation Company Initiative Award: Stryker Ireland
• Outstanding Contribution to Medtech Award: Dr Sinéad Keogh
• Medtech Connect+: Spiorad Medical