Cook Medical is one of many key players within Ireland’s innovative medtech cluster. The company’s award-winning Limerick facility handles the R&D behind many successful medical technology products
Since 1996, US-based medical technology company, Cook Medical, has operated a facility in Limerick. This facility was initially limited to basic manufacturing, labeling, and distribution work for its sister companies, but it grew by leaps and bounds over the years. As a result, the company’s Limerick location now serves as its European commercial headquarters, handling everything from product development to manufacturing to customer support.
Cook Medical is celebrating its 25th anniversary in Limerick in 2021. More than 850 people are employed at the company’s Limerick facility, which makes 10 percent of Cook Medical’s products for global distribution. The facility’s Innovation Center has been active since November 2013, serving as a hub for collaboration with physicians while developing new products and procedures.
The innovative potential of Cook Medical’s Limerick facility was recently demonstrated by a product primarily developed there – the EchoTip Insight Portosystemic Pressure Gradient. Using the novel device, endoscopists can directly measure pressure in the portal and hepatic veins under endoscopic ultrasound guidance. One of the earliest examples of locally developed innovation was Cook Medical’s Bakri Postpartum Balloon, a deceptively simple device used to stem postpartum uterine bleeding. It has saved countless lives around the world since it originated in Limerick about 20 years ago.
The Limerick Cook Medical facility has not gone unrecognized for its efforts. It was named Irish Medical Technology Company of the Year in 2011 at the fifth annual Medical Technology Industry Excellence Awards.
Today, about 10 percent of Irish exports consist of medical devices. More than 450 medical technology companies are operating in Ireland, roughly half of which originated there. A strong Irish supplier network has developed to support these medical technology companies, as well.
Bill Doherty, Executive Vice President for EMEA and Managing Director of Cook Medical Europe, spoke about the impact large medical technology companies have had on Limerick’s continued growth, “Many significant multinational companies in the medical technology sector have established a presence in Limerick, including Stryker, Johnson & Johnson and Edwards Lifesciences. Like these multinationals, Cook Medical has helped to transform Limerick from a traditional, agriculture-based Irish county town into an industrial city capable of competing on a global scale. The city council is also doing a spectacular job in terms of its vision for Limerick and efforts to develop its downtown area – major projects are underway to develop the city center.”
For Cook Medical and many other US-based multinationals, an Irish presence has become increasingly important as companies widen their international presence. These subsidiaries now function as crucial components of their parent organizations and are closely involved with leadership and strategy development for these companies.
Looking ahead, one of Cook Medical’s top priorities is enhancing its digital interactions with customers, including doctors who need clinical support in the operating room. This has become especially important for the company in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, collaboration between multiple Cook Medical facilities has stepped up in recent years. Many of its products are now created by international R&D teams, working virtually together despite the physical distances separating them.
As Cook Medical continues to expand their offerings, Doherty said he believes “the future is bright” for the company – and Ireland’s medical technology industry as a whole.
