A small Northern Ireland medical company has won a £40m sterling deal to
supply a sophisticated detection device that could be used to prevent blood clots forming during long-haul flights.
With deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) dominating medical news, particularly in relation to air-travel, Amtec, the Antrim-based developer of intelligent medical technologies, has agreed a world-wide distribution deal with multi-national Smith & Nephew, who have annual sales of more than £1bn, it was announced today.
The portable device provides a simple, user-friendly and cost-effective test to determine the likelihood of potentially life threatening blood clots in the lower limbs of patients.
Under the terms of the agreement Smith & Nephew has been granted exclusive international distribution rights.
Worth an average of £4m a year over the next decade, the deal will see employment at Amtec more than double to over 50 in the next two years.
Based on technology developed at Musgrave Park Hospital, Belfast, the Venometer was the first product launched by Amtec in 1996. It is currently in use in almost 100 hospitals in the UK and Ireland, where the company is retaining distribution rights.
Mr Will McKee, managing director of Amtec, said: "Our strategic alliance with Smith & Nephew is exactly in line with our objective of outsourcing non-core activities such as manufacturing and international sales, to allow us to concentrate on converting university research into commercial success."
Amtec recently launched its second product, Fathom, which is designed to monitor the depth of anaesthesia in patients undergoing surgery.
It is also hoping to soon bring to market another new device which could save the lives of hundreds of air travellers a year by preventing deep-vein thrombosis.
It is currently talking to British and Irish airlines about its product which, by stimulating the circulation, could be used to prevent blood clots forming during long-haul flights.
PA