PolarCool sign agreement with English Premiership rugby team London Irish
The med-tech company PolarCool AB (publ) continues its establishment in professional rugby, by signing a 2-year agreement with the Gallagher Premiership rugby team London Irish for the use of the PolarCap System.
PolarCool develops the product PolarCap®, which alleviates the effects of concussion. The company's primary customers are sports with an increased risk of concussion, such as Ice Hockey, Rugby, Football and Handball. The agreement with London Irish has a limited financial impact but is another important step in the company's establishment in the rugby market. PolarCool has recently secured several strategic agreements with professional rugby clubs in both France and United Kingdom.
London Irish are a professional Rugby Union team competing in the Gallagher Premiership, the top division of English Rugby Union. The club has a rich history and was founded in 1898 following the creation of London Scottish and London Welsh, historically for the reason of allowing Irishmen the chance to play rugby with fellow countrymen in the English Capital.
Brian O'Leary, Head of Performance at London Irish, comments:
-The treatment and management of concussions is important to us at London Irish. We have reviewed the scientific evidence based on the PolarCap System and we are encouraged to use and evaluate the device and offer improved medical treatment for our players who may suffer a concussion
Erik Andersson, PolarCool's CEO comments:
-In our ongoing establishment on the British market, it is now gratifying that we have received our first agreement within Premiership Rugby. We notice that the wish for solutions regarding the problems with head injuries in the rugby world are large. The fact that the sport has many practitioners and clubs, both in Europe and in the world, makes this market very interesting for PolarCool. With more and more clubs starting to provide PolarCap to their players we envisage an accelerating establishment in this market segment alongside establishing PolarCap® in other sports in the UK.
Rugby is one of PolarCool's most important markets, as the sport has more than 180,000 clubs and 6.6 million players globally. The concussion rate in rugby is high putting rugby players at a larger risk of injury compared to athletes in other sports.