June BioInnovate Ireland announce new Advisory Board members

University of Galway hosts symposium showcases achievement of Fellows 

BioInnovate Ireland – University of Galway’s specialist health technology innovation programme – has announced three new advisory board members. 

Located at University of Galway and established in 2011, BioInnovate Ireland is co-funded by University of Galway and Enterprise Ireland and is formally affiliated to Stanford BioDesign.

The announcement was made to coincide with the BioInnovate Ireland Symposium which took place at University of Galway campus to showcase the achievements of the 2022/23 BioInnovate Ireland Fellows as they conclude their programme. 

The new BioInnovate Ireland Advisory Board members are Robert (Chip) Hance, Chief Executive, Regatta Medical; John O’Brien, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive, S3 Connected Health; and Dr Ian Purdy, Senior Vice-President, Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance at Intuitive.

Supported by funding from Enterprise Ireland, 142 Fellows have completed the BioInnovate Ireland programme to identify unmet healthcare needs and develop innovative solutions to address those needs, while more than 3,000 patients have been treated with innovations which were developed in the programme, with that number rapidly growing.

President of University of Galway, Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, said: “The success and reputation of BioInnovate Ireland is immense in the medtech and healthcare sector and growing. University of Galway has a distinct focus on working for the public good, and with one of our core values being excellence, BioInnovate epitomises the strategic outlook of the University. The programme itself is very much solutions-oriented where our research is focussed on addressing real needs. Patients in profound need benefit as a result which is a testament to those who have driven this agenda for the public good.”

Professor Martin O’Halloran, Director of BioInnovate Ireland and Techrete Professor of Medical Electronics and Director of the Translational Medical Device Lab, University of Galway, said: “The BioInnovate Ireland Symposium is a great occasion whereby we showcase the achievements of our Fellows as they conclude their programme. Along with that, and reflecting a changing medical innovation landscape, we are delighted to announce the addition of three new Board members to the BioInnovate Advisory Board - Robert (Chip) Hance, John O’Brien and Dr Ian Purdy. Each of our new advisory board members brings a wealth of expertise and experience in medical devices, connected health and integrated digital care, and will future-proof the programme direction for years to come.”

Speaking at the BioInnovate symposium, Maura Glennon, Senior Commercialisation Specialist, Enterprise Ireland, said: “Ireland is recognised as a being a leading, global, life sciences and medtech hub, with our community of pioneering leaders playing a pivotal and transformative role in the delivery of innovative healthcare solutions around the world. The BioInnovate Ireland programme and the impressive results is a testament to that. Enterprise Ireland is proud to support the BioInovate Ireland programme and wish every success to the three new Board members who are being announced today.”

The event featured pitches from current Fellows, outlining unmet healthcare needs that have been identified by them and validated as commercial opportunities over the course of the 10 month programme. 

Attendees will also hear from several of the BioInnovate Ireland start-up companies and get insights on the future of medtech from thought-leaders in the sector.

With additional funding from Enterprise Ireland, through its Commercialisation Fund, graduates from the programme have created 30 start-up companies, of which 20 are high potential start-ups (HPSUs). These companies have raised more than €240 million in private and public funds to commercialise their innovative healthcare solutions in the western region since 2014.

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