Cook Medical Plans Ireland Expansion

Bloomington, Inc.-based Cook Medical is planning to invest up to 16.5 million euros (approximately $21 million) in the next four years to expand research and development activities at is location in Limerick, Ireland. The investment is made along with government support through IDA Ireland.

Established in Limerick in 1996, Cook Medical’s Irish operation has grown from eight employees to more than 630, becoming one of the leading medical device employers in the country. The recent winner of the Irish Medical Technology Company of the Year Award, Cook Medical’s dedicated R&D team has built strong relationships with local education institutions such as the University of Limerick, offering work experience opportunities and funding for collaborative research, according to Cook leadership.

This new R&D investment will focus on two projects: the establishment of a state-of-the-art esearch and development laboratory to enhance Cook Ireland’s position as a global design center for the development of self-expanding stents and delivery devices.

The state-of-the-art lab will be designed with the objective of fostering innovation through enhanced collaboration with doctors and clinicians, developing new anatomical models to provide a more realistic environment for product evaluation and testing prior to commercial release.

The second project involves establishing a site for R&D for the Zilver product line—a range of peripheral intervention devices. The Limerick site is currently the sole manufacturing plant for the Zilver PTX Drug-Eluting Peripheral Stent, a drug-eluting stent approved for use in the superficial femoral artery.

Making the announcement Ireland’s minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton, said: “A key part of my plan to get jobs and growth back into the economy again is to target sectors where Ireland has distinct advantages and the potential for large-scale jobs growth. Life sciences and medical devices are sectors where we have built up very substantial strength over a period of many years: the challenge now is to build on that to achieve the jobs growth we need.”

Bill Doherty, Cook Medical executive vice president for Europe said IDA Ireland’s help was “warmly welcomed,” adding that the economic development group had been an “outstanding partner” over the last 16 years.

“Their support, coupled with R&D tax credits, has contributed to year-on-year growth and enabled target milestones to be achieved,” Doherty said. “This latest investment will help to future-proof Cook Medical’s commitment to Ireland, enabling us to lead the development of the next generation of medical devices and continue the improvement of patient outcomes.”