Israel Leads World In Medical Device Patents


Israel Leads World In Medical Device Patents A Cardio-Vascular SuperPower
An indepth analysis shows Israel`s life science industry to be near the top in many global indicators. The data was compiled by a new umbrella organization set up to promote Israel`s life sciences industry. From l to r, ILSI founders: Dr. Raphael Hofstein, CEO of Hadasit, Yossi Bornstein of Shizim, Ruti Alon, Partner in Pitango,.Zeev Zelig, General Manager of Genzyme ITG.
Israel leads the world in patents for medical devices on a per capita basis according to data presented at the inaugural session of ILSI, Israel Life Science Industry, a new umbrella organization. Ruti Alon, one of ILSI`s founders, pointed out that one of the reasons for founding the organization was to be able to gather accurate date that could be used to present a clear picture of the industry`s assets. Her findings corroborate the notion that Israel is a leading player in the world life science arena, especially in the cardio-vascular area. Among some of ILSI`s findings: Israel has 466 life science companies, with 80 percent of them founded in the last ten years. Since 2000 about 50 companies have been founded each year. The industry remains in its formative stage with about thirty percent of the companies in the seed stage and only 20 percent in the clinical stage. The biggest area of industry focus is cardio-vascular with 67 companies active in this area More than half of the industry is comprised of medical device companies (54 percent) biotech companies make up 21 percent. About a half of the medical device companies focus on therapeutic devices with the leading applications being in cardiovascular, oncology, neurology and neurodegenerative. Most of the revenue generating biotech companies sell diagnostic kits or research equipment. Pharmaceutical companies comprise 60 companies and led by Teva include 23 companies with sales. The industry employs about 25,000 workers with 15,000 of them at Teva. Israel is fourth in the world in biopharma patents per capita (trailing only the US, Switzerland and Denmark). The inaugural event was held in Tel Aviv and attracted more than 450 participants. Founders include Dr. Raphael Hofstein, CEO of Hadasit, Zeev Zelig, General Manager of Genzyme ITG, Yossi Bornstein of Shizim and Ruti Alon who is a Partner at Pitango Venture Capital. The goal of ILSI is to develop solid information about the medical research and manufacturing community in Israel, and to make that information available to political leaders, the news media, venture capitalists, investment bankers, and the public. More information can be obtained at the ILSI website www.ilsi.org.il
Published on http://www.bioisrael.com Copyright 2006 by BioIsrael Communications Ltd. All rights reserved
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