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InterTradeIreland has announced it will invest up to €175,000 in five North/South company-to-company research and development partnerships through its Innova programme.  Companies with innovative ideas, which have strong commercial potential and an R&D partner in place, are encouraged to apply for the funding by Friday 4th June 2010.

Innova is the only all-island R&D programme which supports companies across the island to accelerate new product, process or service developments through partnering with a company in the other jurisdiction. As well as the financial support available, companies benefit from pooling their expertise and resources with another company anywhere on the island to bring their innovations to market faster than if they were working alone.  

Through the programme, InterTradeIreland has already invested over €5m to support collaborative R&D projects across the island.

InterTradeIreland’s Director of Programmes and Business Services, Margaret Hearty, said: “Developing and exploiting new ideas is critical to business success, particularly in the current climate. Companies need to innovate to survive and grow but many lack the resources to make it happen. InterTradeIreland’s Innova programme offers an attractive support package for those companies serious about R&D and the unique opportunity to tap into the wealth of expertise that exists across the island.”

Most recently, two companies that have already benefited from the Innova programme are Dublin based tele-health software firm Valentia Technologies and medical devices company Intelesens in Belfast.  Together they have developed an innovative heart monitoring device that is worn by a patient in the home to monitor vital life signs in real-time and transmit this information directly to the hospital, GP, care-worker or member of the family.

Commenting on the project David Burrows, Commercial Manager with Valentia Technologies said: “Valentia are delighted with this valuable opportunity to critically evaluate our Vivasta health management platform on a collaborative basis, made possible through the InterTradeIreland, Innova programme. This project support will help us to translate our ongoing development work to real commercial opportunities. I would strongly recommend other companies to apply for this support and enjoy the future rewards and benefits as we foresee for our company through our participation in this innovative project.”

The device provides an alternative to regular hospital visits and enables patients to benefit from the same innovative care at home that they would receive in hospital while allowing them to maintain their independence. The companies are currently working with Tallaght Hospital Dublin as part of a clinical trial with the hospital expressing interest in the product as a significant improvement on their current system.

Expressions of interest are currently being sought from InterTradeIreland for the Innova programme. Interested partnerships should visit the Innova website
www.intertradeireland.com/innova for further information and to apply, or they can call 048 30 83 41 48.

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