UL Acquires Medical Device Usability, Medical Human Factors Business

NORTHBROOK, Ill., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- UL, a global safety science leader, announced the acquisition of Medical Device Usability, a Cambridge, UK-based human factors services business that specializes in medical technology, particularly medical devices, drug delivery products, and in-vitro diagnostic devices. The deal fortifies UL's expertise in medical human factors and offers greater access to services by UK and European customers.

Medical Device Usability is a privately-owned company that offers human factors services with a portfolio that spans user needs research, user interface design, formative and summative evaluation, and preparation of human factors-related documentation and regulatory submission content. The company has deep experience conducting usability tests of medical devices to meet regulatory requirements and helping companies ensure their products will be commercially competitive.

"The application of human factors engineering is critical to effective and safe use of medical devices," said Upayan SenGupta, Vice President and General Manager, UL's Life and Health Sciences business. "Working as one, the combined entity will respond to the growing market need for human factors consulting services across the globe and build on UL's mission to make the world a safer place while helping companies create and protect their product's brand value.''

Medical Device Usability's employees will join UL's existing human factors practice doing business as Emergo by UL – the advisory service division of the company. Altogether, Medical Device Usability and UL's Human Factors Engineering Research and Design practice will become a single, integrated team with staff based in Concord, Mass; Chicago, IL; Utrecht, The Netherlands; and Tokyo, Japan.

"We are excited to join forces with UL and, together, offer best-in-class medical human factors services," said Medical Device Usability CEO and Founder Richard Featherstone. "Our group's shared reputation for delivering safe and effective medtech services will allow us to significantly accelerate our growth and access to global markets, in addition to providing our customers with a broader range of complementary services and expertise. Clients can rest assured that customer service and technical quality will remain our top priorities and that our newly integrated capabilities will deliver even more value.''

The transaction closed on August 31, 2018. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

About UL
UL fosters safe living and working conditions for people everywhere through the application of science to solve safety, security and sustainability challenges. The UL Mark engenders trust enabling the safe adoption of innovative new products and technologies. Everyone at UL shares a passion to make the world a safer place. We test, inspect, audit, certify, validate, verify, advise, and train. We support these efforts with software solutions for safety and sustainability. To learn more about us, visit UL.com.

About EMERGO by UL
Emergo offers a comprehensive portfolio of advisory services dedicated to enabling innovation and successful global market entry for manufacturers and distributors of Medical Device, Health & Wellness, and Pharmaceutical/Biotech products. We help healthcare companies bring safer, better products to market faster while reducing regulatory risk. We specialize in the following practice areas: Market Compliance, Supply Chain, Clinical Research, Digital Health, and Human Factors Research and Design.

To learn more about us, visit https://www.emergobyul.com/.

Michelle Press, UL
847-664-1966
[email protected]

SOURCE UL

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