Cook Ireland marks European MedTech Week

European MedTech Week is a Europe-wide awareness week aimed at getting people thinking and talking about the positive impact medical technology (MedTech) has on peoples’ lives.

Cook held a series of internal and external events to mark this European wide event, which ran from June 4-8. The flagship external event  was a breakfast briefing called “MedTech in the Mid-West.” This meeting brought together different businesses and initiatives that are making Ireland’s Mid-West a vibrant place to do business globally, especially for the medical technology sector.

Within the Mid-West region of Ireland (which encompasses the counties of Clare, Tipperary, Limerick, and part of north Kerry) there are 43 MedTech companies.

The meeting was moderated by Limerick City and County’s Head of Communications Laura Ryan. Cook Medical’s Executive Vice President for EMEA Bill Doherty gave an introduction to the European MedTech sector and explained why Cook decided to set up in Limerick. Enda McLoughlin from the Industrial Development Association (IDA) spoke about the value of the MedTech sector to the Irish economy. Darach McGrath, global director of Research and Development (R&D) for Cook Vascular, spoke about our Innovation Centre and a soon-to-be-launched endoscopic ultrasound product to aid physicians treating patients with liver disease. Finally, Orlaith Borthwick, programme manager from the Action Plan for Jobs Mid-West, talked about the wider businesses ecosystem and how companies  are working to attract more talent and opportunities to the region.

The event was a great success and was attended by representatives from several local government bodies, other businesses in Limerick such as Northern Trust, and PwC, as well as educators and research experts from the Limerick Institute of Technology and the University of Limerick, local media and both the deputy mayor of Limerick City and council and metropolitan city mayor of Limerick City. The event was featured in local and national press, online on the news platform Silicon Republic and on-air on RTÉ Radio 1—the most listened-to radio station in Ireland.

“European MedTech Week is the perfect platform to showcase the innovative products and services being developed by MedTech companies in the Mid-West of Ireland,” said Bill Doherty, after the event. “It’s an opportunity to explain the importance of MedTech to society in general and its role in promoting the health and wealth of citizens.”

It also gives us an opportunity to reflect on the wider business landscape of the Mid-West and discuss what we can do to further encourage business growth and attract more MedTech companies to the region,” Bill continued. “Recently, inbound investment into the Mid-West has increased, which is positive for the future development of the region. Through continuous dialogue with government, the relevant authorities, educators, local businesses, and our industry peers in the Mid-West, we hope to encourage and sustain a strong pipeline of investment into the region.”

Our employees are also a big focus of Medtech week, so we ran a MedTech-themed quiz competition at Cook in Limerick. To show our appreciation for the positive impact our employees make, they were treated to free ice cream. Finally, a special social media campaign highlighted the contribution our employees make to patients’ lives and to the MedTech industry in Europe and globally.