To slightly rephrase an old proverb, innovation is born out of necessity – and never has the world been more in need than now, as Covid 19 continues to rage across the globe. But once again, Ireland is proving its worth as a nation of inventors by coming up with some truly life-changing responses to the pandemic – so much so that we are now ranked fifth in the world for global exports of Covid 19-related goods, according to the OECD.
A recent report from the OECD revealed that exports of Covid 19-related goods are concentrated in a few key countries. The top five global exporters, which together account for 49% of trade, are Germany, the United States, Switzerland, China, and Ireland.
This report backs up the findings of a previous survey by StartupBlink, a Swiss-Israeli producer of global startup ecosystem maps, that named Ireland as sixth in a global ranking of countries responding best in terms of innovation to the pandemic
Flexibility is key
The pandemic has shown once more how important it is for companies to be flexible in our rapidly changing world, in order to respond to the needs of the market. Many of Enterprise Ireland’s client companies have pivoted to develop solutions in areas such as contact tracing, traveler safety, Medtech, and hygiene transparency in the hospitality sector.
Ireland is ranked as one of the top five global MedTech hubs, and many of our top companies have ramped up production in order to meet the world’s demands for nebulizers, ventilators, and other treatment and protection equipment. For example, Medtronic, the world’s largest standalone medical device maker, produces ventilators in Galway and has more than doubled its workforce of 250 and moved to round-the-clock production. Enterprise Ireland client company Aerogen has also increased production of its aerosol drug delivery products through ventilators to patients in critical and intensive care. And, Galway-based M&M Qualtech, which produces ventilators, nebulizers, and medical monitoring equipment for Medtech customers including Aerogen and Medtronic, has reported capacity demand three to five times higher than pre-crisis levels.
