Oslo Innovation Week, on behalf of the City of Oslo and Innovation Norway, has announced medical technology startup, EpiGuard as the recipient of the 2021 Oslo Innovation Award. Presented during the first day of the of Oslo Innovation Week, the Scandinavian city’s annual week-long technology festival, Ellen Cathrine Andersen, CEO of EpiGuard, collected the award from Vegar Andersen, advisor for the City of Oslo’s Vice Mayor for Business Development and Public Ownership.

Now entering its 14th year, the prestigious Oslo Innovation Award is a collaboration between the City of Oslo and Innovation Norway and is designed to highlight the city’s most innovative startups. The panel made up of previous recipients of the award, business leaders and impact investors, sought out a recipient that had demonstrated their ‘business worthiness’. The companies were considered based on their capacity to problem solve in a way that would create value for the business and for society; with the panel looking to award a scalable, impact-driven startup that had demonstrated the ability to be both ethical and socially responsible, as well as environmentally and economically sustainable. Furthermore, the company had to be a growth company that had proven their ability to scale up their business.

EpiGuard was selected as winner due to their determination to protect healthcare professionals and patients during treatment and transport. During the pandemic EpiGuard’s product – EpiShuttle, a patient transport isolation unit used during transport of infectious patients on land, at sea and in the air – have been an efficient tool in securing the capacity in the health care systems worldwide. When the pandemic in India reached all-time high, EpiShuttle was put in use to transport patients to Europe to initiate life-saving treatment. When the health care system in countries such as France and Switzerland were on the verge of breaking down, EpiShuttle played a crucial part when they transported patients to German intensive care units. The last 19 months have showed that EpiGuard develops products that most countries should have in their inventory when preparing for future pandemics and virus threats.

“We have been working day and night to provide our product to healthcare providers around the world. A product that has saved the lives of hundreds of COVID-19 patients and protected thousands of health care professionals from reinfection. This is just the beginning. Our skilled team are working nonstop to develop sustainable and effective products that will solve problems that health care professionals are facing today and will face in the years to come. We are fully committed to be a part of the solution for future health preparedness and to ensure the capacity of the health care system worldwide,” Ellen Cathrine Andersen, CEO of EpiGuard commented.

This press release was prepared and distributed by EpiGuard.