The Life Sciences Sector
Irish company excels in Medical Devices
Helen Ryan, CEO, Creganna Tactx Medical
Ireland boasts the second highest concentration of
medical device firms anywhere on the planet. 95% of
this hi-tech industry is export oriented. The sector as
a whole grew 9% last year.
Creganna Tactx Medical, an indigenous Irish
company with its headquarters in County Galway,
is at the forefront of the industry. Originally
active in the computer and electronics sector,
Creganna exhibited the definition of the principle
of convergence when it successfully managed the
transition of the enterprise from one sector to
another. It now specialises in the supply of minimally
invasive medical devices to the global market.
Helen Ryan, Chief Executive of Creganna, describes
how the company managed the transition into an
entirely new sector,
“At the time, the electronics industry was leaving
Ireland, whereas the medical device industry was in its
infancy. It was very opportunity driven. The founders
were very entrepreneurial and were looking for new
avenues to explore. An opportunity arose to solve a
problem in the medical device sector and it turned out
that we had the technical knowledge to solve it. We
took an end-to-end supply chain view of the solution,
which was common in the electronics industry, but
not so much in medical devices. The founders secured
a global supply agreement and it became obvious
that this was the sector we should operate in. That
first project posed a lot of risk. We basically bet the
company on successfully making the transition - so it
took a lot of guts”.
The hi-tech nature of the Life Sciences industry
necessitates that constant innovation be a cornerstone
of the company culture. This is an area in which
Creganna excels.