Novasano strengthens its operations with Finnish cyber security expertise
New American company Novasano located to Finland in order to access top quality cyber security expertise and an innovative R&D environment, with support from Invest in Finland. Novasano is currently hiring IT professionals in Tampere and Oulu. Novasano operates across the IT and health sectors, turning the challenges of the Internet of Things into opportunities.
Novasano started its operations in Finland in early 2017. The American company’s products are developed in Finland, which is also an important country for piloting new concepts. The main markets for the products are expected to be in the United States and Europe. Novasano’s product development team is currently recruiting more top experts in Tampere and Oulu.
Novasano’s CEO David Chartier has focused on cyber security and its related solutions for more than 20 years, working for many different growth companies. Chartier previously worked as the CEO of Codenomicon, a cyber security company in Oulu which attracted major international recognition.
“Novasano selected Finland for its product development environment because Finnish expertise is world-class, for example in terms of data privacy management, cyber security threat prevention, reliable infrastructure and identity management. The Internet of Things has brought many benefits and advantages to both consumers and society but at the same time it has also opened new interfaces for cyber security attacks,” says Chartier.
Novasano was founded to help find solutions to these challenges, whether related to consumers’ private devices (e.g. cochlear implants and pacemakers) or patient monitoring equipment used in hospital emergency rooms (e.g. infusion pumps, EKG monitors). The information produced by Novasano helps healthcare actors to manage cyber security risks more efficiently and to develop digital services to be safer and more reliable.
Cyber security is essential in healthcare
According to Jussi Eronen, leading expert at the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA), Finland's high level of cyber security is reflected in its low number of information security breaches in global comparison. Many Finnish companies and organisations are aware of the importance of having good cyber security.
“It’s great news that Novasano is investing specifically in Finland to address the highly topical need for cyber security in the healthcare industry. The recent cyber attack against British hospital systems was a stark reminder of the vital importance of patient safety, when 48 hospitals could not access patient information,” says Invest in Finland’s Nora Kaarela, Director, Head of Industry, Health and Wellbeing at Finpro, the Finnish trade promotion organization.
“In 2013, the FDA selected Codenomicon’s tests for its newly formed cyber security laboratory, which underlines the strength of Finnish expertise in this sector.”
Cooperation with Invest in Finland speeds up locating to Finland
Finpro’s Invest in Finland unit brings foreign companies and investors to Finland, and has helped Novasano to establish its operations in Finland. The cooperation started last year, according to Kirsi Kokko, who is the client manager for Novasano at Invest in Finland. Her most important task has been to network the foreign company within the Finnish ecosystem and provide help in finding ICT sector experts and partners.
“Together with BioMediTech, we organised an introductory tour with of the new clinical teaching laboratories of the Tampere Centre for Skills Training and Simulation located next to the Tampere University Hospital. FinnMed’s help in enabling meetings with local and even national partners has also been an important part of the big picture,” says Kokko.
David Chartier is pleased with the cooperation with Invest in Finland.
“Building the contact network in the healthcare sector and presenting the ecosystem have been the most valuable things for us. We would not have been able to do this so quickly without Invest in Finland’s services,” says Chartier.
Novasano is organising a seminar focusing on the cyber security of international medical devices and a hackathon to test medical device vulnerabilities as part of the EMBEC’17 event (11–15.6.2017). The seminar speakers and panelists are cyber security experts from the United States and Finland.
More information:
Kirsi Kokko, Senior Advisor, Invest in Finland / Finpro, email: kirsi.kokko@finpro.fi, telephone: +358 50 550 2023
Virpi Koivumaa, CFO, Novasano, email : virpi.koivumaa@novasano.com, +358 20 730 1120
Finpro, Invest in Finland
Working as a unit of Finpro, Invest in Finland assists international companies in finding business opportunities in Finland, produces information about Finland as an investment location, and develops and coordinates the national FDI promotion work, networking actively with regional and international actors. Invest in Finland also compiles information about foreign-owned companies in Finland. www.investinfinland.fi
Finpro helps Finnish SMEs go international, encourages foreign direct investment in Finland and promotes travel to Finland. Finpro is a public organization consisting of Export Finland, Visit Finland and Invest in Finland. Its 240 professionals work in 37 Trade Centers in 31 countries and 6 offices in Finland. Finpro is part of the Team Finland network. Finpro – Growth for Finland www.finpro.fi
See more Finnish health sector investor information at www.finlandhealth.fi
Novasano
Novasano produces software products and services for the quality assurance of digital healthcare equipment and systems. The products optimize the quality of care and treatment results from both the patient and the business point of view. A focus on the patient is the starting point for Novasano's systems planning. The systems benefit all healthcare stakeholders, including patients, nursing staff and other healthcare systems and equipment manufacturers. In addition to product development, Novasano's key focus areas include healthcare information security and its integration with other healthcare systems.
