Let’s get down to business: A look at Med-Tech Innovation

The UK and Irish medtech sectors are thriving. Visitors to the Med-Tech Innovation event, taking place at the Ricoh Arena on 26 and 27 April, will meet some of the sector’s leading players and experience an informative and thought-provoking conference and seminar stream. Lu Rahman explains why this is a must-visit event for the anyone involved in the industry.

While UK manufacturing as a whole may have experienced a decline in recent years, the country’s medtech market is bucking the trend. The sector boasts expertise in research and development, as well as supply chain and manufacturing, and is currently one of the largest sectors globally. According to Espicom Healthcare Intelligence, in 2016 the UK market alone was worth $10.1bn (£8.3bn).

The Irish medtech sector is looking just as buoyant. According to the Irish Medtech Association the medical technology sector in the country is recognised as one of five emerging global hubs, boasting exports of €12.6bn.

In recent years the UK life science sector has received a huge boost from the digital health sector. As we start to see increased demand from the UK’s National Health Service as the benefits of digital / connected devices to both patient and healthcare professional become apparent, this market is showing  significant growth. And of course this is starting to impact on UK medtech.

According to PwC the global sector for connected healthcare looks set to hit £37bn by 2020, with the UK on course to grab a 2% share of the market.

On 26-27 April, the Med-Tech Innovation Expo, recently acquired by Rapid News Communications Group, will take place at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry. It is currently the only medtech manufacturing exhibition in the UK making it s must-visit event for packaging, electronics, medical plastics, design, sterilisation and manufacturing equipment and services.

The expo will feature a two-day conference, stream of seminar events and the Medilink awards. This year’s event will also feature the Medtech Introducing stage where visitors will be able to listen to some of the UK and Ireland’s leading expertise in the medtech field.

The event will unite a range of stakeholders involved in the medical device innovation process, showcasing 130 companies from the medical device  supply chain. It has gained both popularity and support over recent years for both quality of exhibitors and stands.

John Jeans CBE, adviser to the prime minister at the Office for Life Sciences said: “This sort of event brings people who are servicing the medical technology industry together and that’s very important both for the medical technology companie – the ones that then take the devices and components that we have seen here, forward into full scale medical devices.”

Emma Raines, NPD technologist, Smith and Nephew also impressed: “The Med-Tech Innovation Expo was a great way to meet both new and current suppliers. In a world of online communication, it is always interesting to meet contacts from other companies for the first time. The EXPO was an excellent opportunity to gain an insight into exciting new technologies and devices, which broadened my understanding of the wound care device market. The seminars were also a great way to get in depth knowledge on highly useful topics.

Cleanroom supplier NGS exhibited at the show in 2015. Sales director, Steve Gibson said: “We were extremely impressed at the professionalism of the event organisation and most importantly we were blown away by the quality of the visitors who attended our stand over the two days. Six months after the event we secured two large projects with companies we met there.”