Case studies
Actionable data making a meaningful impact on care / Roche
David Dowling, Healthcare Systems Partner, Roche
Roche offers differentiated medicines in oncology, immunology, infectious diseases, ophthalmology, diseases of the central nervous system and rare diseases. It is also the world leader in in vitro diagnostics and tissue-based cancer diagnostics, and a frontrunner in diabetes management. Since the company’s founding in Basel, Switzerland in 1896, there has been a continuous focus on creating new medicines and diagnostics. More recently, the organisation has focused on establishing data-based insights, to evolve the practice of medicine and help patients live longer, better lives.
The support available in Ireland also plays a huge part in centring Ireland as a global hub for digital health. Ibec, the Irish Government, the Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment, and agencies like IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, have a strong track record of supporting innovation in the sector, making Ireland an attractive location to operate in. This, coupled with our highly skilled workforce, further reinforces this innovative mindset.
Ireland as testbed for innovation & collaboration / HealthBeacon
HealthBeacon Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder Kieran Daly
“On average around 50% of patients are not adhering to their medication after a year according to the WHO. One of the most common delivery methods for chronic medications is self-injection. We realised that every patient needs a sharps bin in the home. So, what if we made these bins smart and allowed people to check whether they had taken their medications or not. That’s why we created HealthBeacon.
“We have developed the business by having a trial and pilot in Ireland, and using that as a blueprint for exporting and bringing it into other markets. We have access to pharma companies and medical device companies. Being a small country makes it easy to have this type of grassroots support, which is something I don't see much in other markets.”
Reimagining with digital transformation / Novartis
Novartis Global Service Centre Dublin Director of Data Science and Digital Solution Director for Digital Endpoints Lorcan Walsh
“To reimagine medicine, we need to reimagine the way we work. This involves combining digital and data, so that we can measure patients better within our clinical trials, reduce the medicine development timeline, and get better drugs to patients faster.
Novartis Ireland Solution Lead and Head of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Hub Dublin Ashwini Mathur, “Ireland has the same time zone as the headquarters in Basel, but Ireland is also accessible to Asia and the US… another benefit is the digital health infrastructure that exists in Ireland. This goes for both the academic setting and the corporate setting. There are niche companies doing cutting-edge digital health work.”