Irish Enterprise Awards 2020

EU BUSINESS NEWS / 2020 Irish Enterprise Awards 19 Best Catheter Safety Device Development Company 2020 Urinary catheterisation is one of the more ubiquitous procedures performed by healthcare practitioners around the world, with 130million performed annually around the world. Keen tomake this common process safer, Class Medical have perfected the Trans-Urethral Catheter (TUC) Safety Valve. We look a little more closely at the company, its innovative product and its team to see how they’re pioneering Ireland’s healthcare. Jan20410 While a common procedure, there is still the search for perfection when it comes to performing a urinary catheterisation. While something regularly undertaking with hospital patients, there is still the risk of iatrogenic injuries. These are injuries caused by clinicians and can have serious short- and long-term complications for patients, resulting in substantial financial, resource, and medico- legal problems. Unique, innovative and patented, the Trans-Urethral Catheter (TUC) Safety Valve is designed specifically to alleviate some of the potential problems that can result from this treatment. Able to be used with any brand of catheter or syringe, the TUC Safety Valve prevents inadvertent inflation of the anchoring balloon in the male urethra. While the catheter market has reached a level of maturity, foley catheters from the larger players all share the same issue, namely the inadvertent inflation of the anchoring balloon in the urethra. The difference that the TUC Safety Valve will make in the medical profession, therefore, is profoundly significant and potentially lifesaving. There is currently no real alternative to this solution, even though the rate of injury continues to remain. The nearest alternative comes in the form of having the catheter pre-mounted over a cystoscope, which is used to visually cannulate the bladder and requires complex machinery and imaging technology. This is an expensive and time-consuming procedure, unfortunately, and impractical for everyday usage. The company was co-founded by Dr. Niall Davis, a specialist in urology in University Hospital Limerick. He was completing his PhD with biomedical engineers when he observed that urinary catheter balloon injuries were occurring on a frequent basis. In collaboration with Dr. Rory Mooney and Professor Michael Walsh, the team worked tirelessly to design a safe urethral catheter system that would be able to minimise urethral trauma. Since inception, Class Medical has striven to innovate and scientifically prove each and every claim. Being based in Ireland has allowed the company to truly explore its innovative nature while growing and developing as a business. Support from various organisations is significant and has made the development of the TUC Safety Valve much more reasonable than it would have been in other countries. Enterprise Ireland has been a major factor in the success of Class Medical, with awards, grants and funds such as the Enterprise Ireland Cleveland Clinic Award, the Enterprise Ireland Commercialisation Fund, the Enterprise Ireland Innovation Partnership and the Enterprise Ireland Business Accelerator Grant making an incredible difference. As a start-up, the business has been able to take advantage of all these opportunities to really make a difference around the globe. The need to treat the process as one of an enterprise as opposed to one of scientific investigation is why the team have been able to achieve impressive focus and clarity in how they move forward. Needless to say, they are already looking forward to the completion of this phase in the company, aiming to succeed in a timely and budget sensitive manner. Before initial sales can be undertaken with hospitals and distributors, there is a need to receive CE approval, FDA approval, publish a Multicentred Multinational Clinical Study. If all goes well, this should be achieved within the year. In all, the future seems bright for this Limerick-based business, and the methodical attitudes of its team have encouraged effective progress in all areas. Many wish to make their marks on the world, but few do so with as much ease and grace as the team from Class Medical – a class act is all respects. Company: Class Medical Contact: Gavin Leonard Web: www.classmedical.ie