Dunbar Pharma’s founder and CEO, Leah Fletcher, has secured the 2026 Enterprise Ireland High Potential Start-Up (HPSU) Founder of the Year title, an accolade honoring entrepreneurs driving globally-focused ventures, as announced at the Dublin ceremony.
Dunbar Pharma is Ireland’s first EU GMP-certified cannabinoid pharmaceutical manufacturer, producing WaterClear THC, a plant-derived dronabinol active pharmaceutical ingredient. The company has launched WaterClear THC to partners behind ten magistral preparations in two major export markets.
Founder of the Year Awards
The Founder of the Year Awards took place at Salesforce Tower in Dublin, with five founders shortlisted for the award after being selected by their peers to represent their Founder Groups. The other finalists were Breda O’Regan, co-founder and CEO of Lia EyeCare; Mark Birrane, founder and CEO of WONDR; Robert Norton, co-founder and CTO of Kaptea; and Seán Kirwan, CEO of MedWrite AI.
Leah Fletcher built Dunbar Pharma from concept to manufacture, securing funding and a suite of technically demanding licenses while developing in-house processes and intellectual property. She leads a team in Athlone that combines senior pharmaceutical professionals with a scientific graduate program.
The HPSU Founders Forum, now in its 11th year, has seen 500 HPSU companies participate, spanning sectors including AI, biotech, food and beverage, cybersecurity, healthtech, medical devices, and SaaS. The program is delivered in partnership with Select Strategies.
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Enterprise Ireland’s HPSU Founders Forum
The forum provides a platform for entrepreneurs to connect, share knowledge, and learn from each other. Mark Christal, executive director at Enterprise Ireland, announced Fletcher as the winner, saying: “Over the past 11 years, 500 HPSU companies have come through the Founders Forum, from food and beverage, biotech, and medical devices to AI, cybersecurity, and SaaS. That mix reflects the diversity, creativity, and ambition that define Ireland’s entrepreneurial spirit.”
The judging panel included chair Donnchadh Cullinan, divisional manager at Enterprise Ireland, alongside Founders Forum alumni Dan Fox, founder of Johnson Hana and strategic advisor at Eudia, and Heidi Davis of Peri. The awards were moderated by Gary Fox of The Entrepreneur Experiment.
MedWrite AI, one of the finalist companies, has raised more than €1 million in funding, using its technology to deploy and manage AI agents that automate clinical documentation, coding, and administrative workflows, completing tasks up to 10 times faster.
Founders Forum Participants
Lia EyeCare is an Irish eyecare technology company developing science-backed solutions, led by Breda O’Regan. WONDR produces jellies that are low in sugar and high in protein and fibre, led by Mark Birrane. Kaptea is the company behind Pronto, a journey orchestration platform built on Twilio, led by Robert Norton. MedWrite AI is led by Seán Kirwan.
Lia EyeCare has progressed through fundraising, CE certification and manufacturing scale-up, and its first product is Nightleaf, a non-invasive wearable for use before sleep that supports the eyes’ natural ability to restore and recover.
