Vitalograph, a manufacturer of respiratory devices, is on the hunt for data analysts, software designers and engineers.
Vitalograph, a health-tech company based in Co Clare, has announced 50 new roles as part of a €12m investment in its Ennis facility.
The organisation is hoping to hire data analysts, software designers and engineers, and expects to fill the positions over the next six months.
Screening for ‘black lung’
Vitalograph was founded by Margaret and Dietmar Garbe in 1963 after the latter developed one of the first mobile spirometers on the market to screen coal miners for pneumoconiosis, or ‘black lung’ as it is more commonly known.
The SME has operated out of Co Clare since 1974. It currently has 200 employees spread across centres in Ireland, England, Germany, China, Japan and the US, half of which are employed in Ireland.
The firm exports cardiorespiratory products for use in primary and secondary care, occupational health, the emergency services, and pharmaceutical clinical trials to 113 countries globally.
Working to relieve chronic cough
Vitalograph has recently been working with pharmaceutical companies to provide clinical trials of new drugs used in the treatment of cough and other respiratory conditions, as seen in a 2017 study into the effectiveness of a drug designed to relieve refractory chronic cough.
The company collaborated with University of South Manchester Wythenshawe Hospital to develop a digital recording device that can assess cough frequency, named VitaloJAK.
Vitalograph general manager Frank Keane said the company has “devised the only system in the world that has been approved and validated to accurately measure cough”.
Supporting Ireland’s position in the global medical sector
The hiring announcement was welcomed by Minister of State of the Department of Enterprise and Innovation Pat Breen, TD, who said it was a “very positive reinforcement of our position in the global pharmaceutical, medical and clinical testing sector”.
Dr Tom Kelly, divisional manager for cleantech, electronics and life sciences at Enterprise Ireland, stated that the medtech sector in Ireland was “globally recognised as a major centre of excellence”.
He added: “The sector has continued to grow year on year and has evolved to become a world-class ecosystem made up of highly innovative companies like Vitalograph.”
