Hothouse companies named ‘Business Ambassadors’
17 June 2011: DIT Hothouse companies Kinesense and Sigmoid Pharma were two of the sixty-five companies from acrossIreland recognised as InterTradeIreland Business Ambassadors at a special ceremony in the Mansion House on June 1st. The event was hosted by Minister for Jobs,Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD. The companies also attended a reception inAras an Uachtarain hosted by President Mary McAleese.
The ambassador companies were nominated as firms that have successfully embraced innovation, developed new cross-border markets or secured venture capital through InterTradeIreland’s support.
Mark Sugrue, CTO, Kinesense participated in the eighteenth Hothouse Venture Programme and went on to scoop the 2010 DIT Hothouse Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the Docklands Innovation Park Enterprise Award.
Kinesense develop video retrieval, search and analysis technology for police and intelligence services. Their specialist software reduces human effort and increases speed and accuracy in video investigations and surveillance. Kinesense technology is used by police forces and security agencies including Technical Support Units, Major Investigation Units, Counter Terrorism Units, Serious Crimes Units, and Overt and Covert Surveillance Teams.
The company partnered with StreamOn fromNorthern Irelandthrough InterTradeIreland’s Innova programme to develop a sophisticated security video management system with integrated advanced analytics capabilities.
Dr Ivan Coulter, CEO, Sigmoid Pharma participated in the sixth Hothouse Venture Programme and scooped the 2004 Docklands Innovation Park Enterprise Award.
Established in 2003 Sigmoid Pharma is a privately-held drug delivery technology and pharmaceutical product development company. Sigmoid has developed two technologies, LEDDS™ and SmPill™, both of which can enhance drug solubility and permeability while also permitting targeted drug delivery to the site in the body where the drug is required. The result is a convenient, safe and effective product. The company is also developing innovative products to treat diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
In the future, Sigmoid plans to develop combined products to treat cardiovascular and neurological conditions as well as technology to permit the conversion of vaccines from injections to an oral pill format. The pharma company has ongoing collaborations with leading international academic and clinical centres inIreland, theUK, Europe and theUSand plans to target the global pharmaceutical industry with its technology and product innovations.
Sigmoid Pharma was a previous overall winner in InterTradeIreland’s All-island Seedcorn Business Competition and more recently took home the Innovation of the Year title at the Irish Times InterTradeIreland Innovation Awards.
