Eight of the world's 10 largest medical device companies are located in Ireland, with Europe's premier cluster of device companies based in the Galway region.

Examples of global companies with substantial operations include Abbott, Bayer, Becton Dickinson, Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson, Guidant, Medtronic and Stryker. The sector employs over 26,000 people in 130 companies and generates sales in excess of €6 billion annually, with annual growth approaching 16 per cent. Over half of the medical technologies companies based in Ireland have dedicated R&D facilities.

This continued investment has stimulated the emergence of an indigenous cluster of over 100 innovation-led companies along the entire Medtech value chain - from R&D intensive technologies, to proprietary products, contract design and manufacturing, packaging and sterilisation. This has positioned Ireland as a world-class centre of excellence for medical devices.

Research-led Innovation

The Irish Government has committed to an €8.2 billion investment in science and technology research up until 2013, funding centres of excellence like the €15 million Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI), a world-class biomedical research centre focusing on gene therapy and stem cell research, and the €23 million Biomedical Diagnostics Institute (BDI), a multidisciplinary research institute focused on the development of next generation biomedical diagnostic devices.

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) Colles Institute currently consists of three centres: the National Surgical Training Centre (NSTC) which provides education and training programmes in Ireland; the Centre for Innovation in Surgical Technology (CIST) which develops and commercialises surgical technology ideas from industry, clinicians, or researchers; and the Centre for Clinical Research and Development (CCR&D) which provides clinical research services to industry, clinicians and researchers.

Other Medtech research centres include:

• The Medical Engineering Design and Innovation Centre (MEDIC)
• The National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science (NCBES)
  South Eastern Applied Material Research Centre (SEAM)
• Centre for Research in Engineering Surface Technology (CREST)
  Micro Sensors for Clinical Analysis (MiCRA) 
• Centre for Design Innovation 
• National Centre for Sensor Research (NCSR) 
• Bioengineering Research Centre
• Centre for Applied Biomedical Engineering Research (CABER) 
• Centre for Nanotechnology and Materials Research (CNMR) 
• National Centre for Laser Applications (NCLA) 
• Innovations in Medical Devices (IMeD)
• Materials Ireland Polymer Research Centre  

Key Characteristics and Growth Areas

• Cardiovascular: 80 per cent of global stent production is carried out in Ireland, with significant investment by Abbott, Boston Scientific, Guidant and Medtronic. The Galway Medical Devices Centre of Excellence (GMedTech) is actively focused on cardiovascular research in four key research topics: abdominal aortic aneurysms; cranial aneurysms; coronary artery disease and the venous system. Other areas of research include the human musculoskeletal system, dentistry, urology and reconstructive surgery.
• Orthopaedics: Ireland hosts manufacturing facilities by industry leaders Stryker, J&J, DePuy and, most recently, a €50 million investment by Zimmer.
• Diagnostics: Six of the top 7 global diagnostics companies are located in Ireland, including Abbott Diagnostic and Beckman Coulter.