Cook Medical's Drug-eluting Peripheral Vascular Stent, The Zilver PTX, Will Be Manufactured At Its Limerick, Ireland Plant

Main Category: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Also Included In: Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry;  Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Article Date: 03 Oct 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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Cook Medical today announces that its new drug-eluting peripheral vascular stent, the Zilver PTX, will be manufactured at its Limerick, Ireland plant. The Zilver® PTX™ Drug-Eluting Peripheral Stent (DES) is currently undergoing clinical trials in various centres throughout the world and is designed to treat peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a condition that is frequently under-diagnosed and that affects 1 in 20 people over the age of 55 in the UK.

Manufacturing of the device is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2009 and the first phase will involve an investment of EUR 25 million, which will create 200 jobs over a five year period. The second phase of the project will see the technology developed for other applications resulting in additional investment and jobs during this period. The overall project is supported by the IDA Ireland, from which Cook has received ongoing support since commencing operations in Limerick in 1996.

"The choice of Limerick for such an important project for Cook Medical is great news and a welcome boost to the economy of the Limerick region," says Bill Doherty, Executive Vice President, Cook Group Europe. "Being able to invest in the manufacture of the advanced technology Zilver PTX stent in Limerick will not only create additional jobs in the short term, but will also form the basis for future technology development". The Zilver PTX is a ground breaking technology for the treatment of peripheral arterial disease. The coating of the stent is intended to help it to keep arteries open for extended periods, which will greatly help those patients who have been diagnosed with PAD."

The Zilver PTX Stent falls into the Cook's Peripheral Intervention business unit and will be distributed worldwide by Cook Ireland. In addition, the company's European Shared Service Centre provides customer service across Europe, the Middle East and Africa as well as sales, IT, finance, HR and administrational support for all eight of Cook's business units, comprising of; Aortic Intervention, Cardiology, Critical Care, Endoscopy, Peripheral Intervention, Surgery, Urology and Women's Health.

Cook has continued to develop its operations in Ireland, with significant additions to the Limerick facility in 2003 and again in 2006 bringing the number of employees to its current level of 480. These efforts were recognised in 2006 when Cook Medical was awarded the Irish Exporters Association's Exporter of the Year and Life Science Exporter of the Year awards.

About Cook Medical

Cook Medical was one of the first companies to help popularize interventional medicine, pioneering many of the devices now commonly used worldwide to perform minimally invasive medical procedures. Today, the company integrates device design, biopharma, gene and cell therapy and biotech to enhance patient safety and improve clinical outcomes in the fields of aortic intervention; interventional cardiology; critical care medicine; gastroenterology; radiology, peripheral vascular, bone access and oncology; surgery and soft tissue repair; urology; and assisted reproductive technology, gynecology and high-risk obstetrics. Cook is a past winner of the prestigious Medical Device Manufacturer of the Year Award from Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry magazine.

Cook Medical