BALLYMENA-based diagnostics firm CIGA Healthcare has secured supply contracts worth more than $5 million (£4m) in new markets for its home diagnostic devices and kits in Europe and Middle Eastern regions including Turkey and Egypt.
The family-owned business?supplies blood monitors, pregnancy tests, urinary tract infection detectors and other personal health equipment under the Suresign brand.
It says the new business - which includes supplying digital thermometers and glucose monitors - follows an assertive international marketing strategy it undertook last year (recently it also attended the Arab Health exhibition in Dubai with assistance from Invest NI).
CIGA Healthcare founder and chief executive Irwin Armstrong says the latest contract wins (the company is now exporting to 72 countries and is planning a major drive to expand its distribution in the Far East and South America) are a welcome sign of confidence in the sector.
He said: “We've been facing strengthening headwinds in recent months with transport and distribution delays and rising costs.
“But while trading conditions are particularly volatile, our marketing efforts at home in the Irish and British retail markets, as in the international sphere, have been paying off.”
He added: “Health will always be a key growth market. But it is extremely competitive, and to succeed requires flexibility, understanding of the latest in regulatory compliance, medical developments, participation
in research and a robust supply chain.”
CIGA Healthcare, which is represented on various research bodies including the Connected Health Innovation Centre at Ulster University, has also secured CE certification for its fertility products which means it can ensure conformity with all EU-wide requirements, which are also adopted by other international markets.
