Bloomington, Ind. — Cook Medical has today officially opened its new state-of-the-art research and development (R&D) Innovation Centre at its plant in Limerick, Ireland.
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The Innovation Centre together, with the expansion of cleanrooms, packaging, storage and other facilities, represents an investment of €10million by Cook Medical with the support of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through IDA Ireland. This commitment to R&D and a growing product pipeline has increased staff by 100 over the past two years and augurs well for additional employment in the future.
Richard Bruton TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation attending the opening said, “Life sciences is a key sector targeted in our Action Plan for Jobs, and we have put in place a range of changes to support growth in this sector, such as the establishment of a Health Innovation Hub. Today’s announcement that Cook Medical is establishing a state-of-the-art innovation centre in Limerick with an investment of €10million is a very welcome vote of confidence in the sector. I wish them every success and hope that, with the right supports from Government, we can see further growth in the future.”
Significance of the Innovation Centre
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Cook Medical’s Limerick site currently develops peripheral vascular, gastroenterology and urology devices for global distribution. The Innovation Centre is a dedicated space enabling the company to collaborate closely with physicians in its research and development efforts. Equipped with the latest technology to recreate and simulate clinical conditions, it will enable improved device testing and better product design outcomes.
Dr Jan-Werner Poley, Head of Endoscopy at the Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, comments, “Having been involved in the development of several Cook Medical endoscopy devices, I feel confident that I have the tools I really need. Cook’s Research and Development team helps me turn my ideas into reality. I am pleased that the brand new Innovation Centre will allow more physicians to cooperate with Cook in this way.”
“Cook Medical is one of the longest established companies in the medical devices industry,” says Barry O’Leary, Chief Executive, IDA Ireland. “Their products are sold in 135 countries across the world. Cook is a large employer in the Limerick region – they make an huge contribution to the local economy. Cook’s decision to continue to invest in Ireland is a clear endorsement of the country’s pro-business environment and of the quality of the staff available in Limerick. Cook’s investment will ensure that Ireland remains at the forefront of research and development in new technologies and products in the medical device sector.“
Irish Medtech Industry
At present, Europe’s regulatory system enables innovative solutions to be brought to market in a timely fashion, which benefits patients. Thanks in part to this innovation-friendly environment, Ireland has developed a medtech cluster now made up of over 250 companies, of which Cook Medical is a major player.
Bill Doherty, EMEA Vice President of Cook Medical explains, “I am excited that Cook Medical in Limerick now has its own Innovation Centre dedicated to collaborating with physicians in the R&D process. We are looking forward to welcoming doctors and surgeons from across Europe and further afield as we work towards creating much needed innovative devices for patients throughout the world.”
About Cook Medical Ireland
For the past 50 years Cook Medical has been working closely with physicians to develop technologies and devices that eliminate the need for open surgery. Operating in Ireland for 20 years we began with eight employees and now employ 800, making Cook Medical Ireland one of the leading medical device employers in the country. Our site now accounts for more than 10 per cent of Cook Medical’s output to global markets. We have always remained family-owned so that we have the freedom to focus on what we care about: patients, our employees and our communities. Find out more at www.cookmedical.com, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Las Vegas, Nev. — Four-year data from the Zilver® PTX® Randomized Controlled Trial of Paclitaxel-Eluting Stents for Femoropopliteal Disease from Cook Medical presented today at the 2013 Vascular Interventional Advances (VIVA) meeting demonstrates 75 percent primary patency in the superficial femoral artery (SFA) at four years for patients treated with Cook Medical’s paclitaxel-eluting stent. This compares to 57.9 percent patency for patients with provisional bare metal stent placement in the study.
This represents a 41 percent reduction in four-year restenosis with the paclitaxel coating in the head-to-head comparison of provisional paclitaxel-eluting stent placement versus BMS placement.
“Certainly as we face the challenge of ‘health care value,’ the Zilver PTX results allow for confidence of long-term procedural success and patient benefit,” said Gary Ansel, M.D., director for the Center for Critical Limb Care at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
One of the trial’s principal investigators, Dr. Ansel presented the data at VIVA today in Las Vegas, NV. As presented last month at the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE) 2013 meeting in Spain, the four-year data shows that 83.2 percent of patients with femoropopliteal lesions who were treated with Zilver PTX did not require revascularization after four years. In comparison, 69.4 percent of patients treated with acutely successful percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) or provisional BMS placement did not require revascularization.
The Zilver PTX Randomized Trial of Paclitaxel-Eluting Stents for Femoropoliteal Artery Disease was a 479-patient multicenter, prospective, randomised study, designed to evaluate the stent as a treatment for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in the superficial femoral artery (SFA). Dr. Michael Dake*, professor of cardiothoracic surgery at Stanford University Medical School, presented the four-year data, which showed freedom from target lesion revascularization (TLR), at CIRSE last month.
Dr. Dake remarked, “The 4-year freedom from TLR data documents the sustained clinical benefit of Zilver PTX. When compared to standard of care therapy, consisting of either acutely successful PTA or provisional bare stent placement after sub-optimal PTA, the paclitaxel-eluting Zilver stent provides a 45 percent reduction in the reintervention rate in this study.”
“Cook’s commitment to providing clinical evidence of the efficacy of drug-eluting devices in the peripheral vessels is unmatched. With this new data showing lasting patency at four years, we’re confident our Zilver PTX stent offers PAD patients a lasting solution,” said Rob Lyles, vice president and global leader of Cook Medical’s Peripheral Intervention clinical division.
Drs. Dake and Ansel, the global principal investigators for the Zilver PTX trial, are paid consultants to Cook Medical regarding the research and development of medical devices.
1Data is available upon request.
About Cook Medical
Since 1963 Cook Medical has worked closely with physicians to develop technologies that eliminate the need for open surgery. Today we are combining medical devices, biologic materials and cellular therapies to help the world’s healthcare systems deliver better outcomes more efficiently. We have always remained family owned so that we have the freedom to focus on what we care about: patients, our employees and our communities. Find out more at www.cookmedical.com, and for the latest news, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Bloomington, Ind.— Cook Group officials today acknowledged an Indiana General Assembly concurrent resolution sponsored by State Representative Bob Heaton extending “extreme gratitude” for the company’s 50-year history and its beneficial impact on Indiana’s economy and culture.
“On behalf of the Cook family, the more than 11,000 Cook Group employees worldwide who made this anniversary possible, and the millions of patients served by the medical devices we produce, I want to thank Rep. Heaton and his co-sponsors and colleagues in the Indiana House and Senate for this honor,” said Cook Group Chairman Steve Ferguson. “Cook is extremely proud to be a homegrown Indiana business. Our growth over the last half-century into a successful global organization has been possible due to the hard work and dedication of our employees, Indiana’s positive economic environment, and the strong support of our state’s elected officials.”
The resolution honors the 50-year journey of the Cook Group organization from a two-person operation in a spare bedroom in Bloomington in 1963 to a global business selling 16,000 different medical devices in more than 135 countries. More than 6,200 Cook employees work in Indiana in fields ranging from medical device, biotech and pharmaceutical manufacturing, real estate and resort development and management, and other commercial services.
State legislators noted that Cook, working in close cooperation with doctors and other health care providers worldwide, helped launch a revolution in medicine by pioneering many of the tools and techniques needed to perform minimally invasive procedures such as angioplasty, stenting and endovascular aortic repair, among others.
The resolution also acknowledges the work of the Cook family and Cook Group in restoring historically significant Indiana properties such as the French Lick Resort to a sustainable economic model. Other contributions singled out for recognition include capital investments in many Indiana colleges and universities, and the Cook family’s support for professional-level musical education and performance through the Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle Corps and its Tony and Emmy award-winning spin-off, BLAST!
“Every day, thousands of Hoosiers come to work at Cook Group companies with the goal of helping improve patient outcomes or providing the best customer experience possible. Each of them deeply appreciates this resolution and is humbled by what it represents.”
“Our first fifty years laid a foundation that everyone at Cook hopes will provide ongoing opportunities for growth in Indiana and around the globe for many more years,” Ferguson noted. “Every day, thousands of Hoosiers come to work at Cook Group companies with the goal of helping improve patient outcomes or providing the best customer experience possible. Each of them deeply appreciates this resolution and is humbled by what it represents.”
About Cook Medical
A global pioneer in medical breakthroughs, Cook Medical is committed to creating effective solutions that benefit millions of patients worldwide. Today, we combine medical devices, drugs, biologic grafts and cell therapies across more than 16,000 products serving more than 40 medical specialties. Founded in 1963 by a visionary who put patient needs and ethical business practices first, Cook is a family-owned company. For more information, visit www.cookmedical.com. Follow Cook Medical on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Bloomington, Ind. — Cook Medical is gratified and U.S. patients are thankful for the bipartisan vote in the U.S. Senate on Thursday that overwhelmingly passed the Hatch-Klobuchar amendment to the Senate Budget Resolution to repeal the 2.3 percent tax on medical device sales in the United States.
Indiana Senators Dan Coats and Joe Donnelly, Pennsylvania Senators Bob Casey Jr. and Pat Toomey, Illinois Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk, and North Carolina Senators Richard Burr and Kay Hagan deserve praise for their leadership in co-sponsoring the amendment and joining with colleagues to cast 79 votes favoring repeal, Cook officials said.
The amendment recognizes that patient care, jobs and the vitality of one of the nation’s most innovative industries depend on tax policies that spur breakthroughs and do not punish innovators.
“This tax on gross sales threatens regional economic vitality, badly needed jobs and patients’ hopes for new, life-saving products and treatments. Thousands of lay-offs in the U.S. have already occurred because of this tax. We are pleased for the support an American industry that is the envy of the world.”
“Work still needs to be done, as the vote for repeal of the tax was non-binding,” said Cook Group chairman Steve Ferguson. “This tax on gross sales threatens regional economic vitality, badly needed jobs and patients’ hopes for new, life-saving products and treatments. Thousands of lay-offs in the U.S. have already occurred because of this tax. We are pleased for the support an American industry that is the envy of the world.”
Work for repeal started in the 2012 U.S. House with its bi-partisan vote, 270-146, to repeal the tax and continued this year with new repeal bills in the House and U.S. Senate.
“American employees and patients appreciate the support of the House and Senate and hope they will finish the job that was started with Thursday’s Senate vote,” Ferguson said. “We need to protect jobs and patients in the U.S. by moving promptly to repeal this tax.”
About Cook Medical
A global pioneer in medical breakthroughs, Cook Medical is committed to creating effective solutions that benefit millions of patients worldwide. Today, we combine medical devices, drugs, biologic grafts and cell therapies across more than 16,000 products serving more than 40 medical specialties. Founded in 1963 by a visionary who put patient needs and ethical business practices first, Cook is a family-owned company. For more information, visit www.cookmedical.com. Follow Cook Medical on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Bloomington, Ind. — The Grant Street Inn has opened a new 16-room addition. The new building was designed and constructed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification requirements. The facility will be the fourth LEED-certified building in Bloomington, and the first privately owned LEED-certified building in town. Certification, which is based on energy usage, sustainability and indoor air quality, will be completed upon review of energy and water consumption.
The Grant Street Inn’s new addition was built to match the 1890s style of the original inn. It is a part of CFC’s larger effort toward sustainable living. The addition includes green elements such as energy-saving light fixtures, low-flow showers, solar panel water heaters and a system to capture rainwater and use it to irrigate the lawn and solar panel water heaters.
“Guests can enjoy the usual comforts of our bed and breakfast as we work to reduce our carbon footprint.”
“We are so excited about this addition to the Grant Street Inn,” said Jim Murphy, president of CFC Properties. “Guests can enjoy the usual comforts of our bed and breakfast as we work to reduce our carbon footprint.”
This summer, guests of the inn were given gift cards to the local farmer’s market and encouraged to bring a plant back to the inn to be planted in the guest garden. The items they brought back were incorporated into the dayâs meals. These efforts, and others designed to get people thinking about things they can do to help the environment, will continue.
About CFC Properties
For more than 35 years, CFC Properties has been a leader in the historic restoration, promotion and revitalization of downtown Bloomington, Indiana. This includes the city’s largest bed and breakfast, the Grant Street Inn. CFC also recently expanded to Canton, Illinois, hometown of former president and CEO of Cook Group, Bill Cook. For more information, visit www.cfcproperties.com. Follow The Grant Street Inn on Twitter and Facebook.
Baesweiler, North Rhine-Westphalia — Cook Medical, a world leader in minimally invasive medical technologies, today announced a major development in the extension of its European operations with the opening of a new €15m distribution center in Baesweiler, Germany.
Located less than one hour from Cologne, the new center will be the company’s delivery hub for all European countries providing easy access to Europe’s largest freight airport Cologne/Bonn, as well as to major road and rail networks.
Cook’s increased presence in Germany marks an important step in safeguarding continuity of patient care. The center will streamline Cook’s distribution activity across Europe offering the highest standard, both in terms of device quality and customer service.
“Baesweiler is an ideal location for our European distribution center as we continue to increase our commitment to supporting patients worldwide,” said Bill Doherty, VP EMEA Cook Medical. “Due to its excellent infrastructure and proximity to the cities of Cologne, Dusseldorf and Aachen, it is one of the most efficient logistics locations in Europe – providing our business and patients with increased assurance. This is an important step in achieving our aim to enhance patient care, both with our medical solutions and our streamlined distribution network.”
The distribution center, which has a total storage surface of 5850m2, will stock up to 800,000 products previously stored at Cook Ireland, based in Limerick and William Cook Europe in Denmark. At any one time there will be close to 5,000 different products in stock with 1,500 shipments daily, and up to 20 larger bulk shipments to various distribution partners. In a full year, Cook Medical expects to distribute over half a million packages from the center and will ship regularly to over 100 countries worldwide. The new European Distribution Center joins a network of continental distribution centers serving Cook Medical, with the others being Bloomington, Indiana for the Americas and Shanghai for Asia/Pacific.
The new center will also support Cook in bringing devices to customers in a more environmentally friendly way, with the Baesweiler facility classed as 18.8% more energy efficient than requirements set out in the German Energy Saving Standards. Built with high-quality materials, the structure will be one of Cook’s most energy efficient with solar panels and state of the art insulation ensuring energy efficient heating throughout. The Distribution Center processes are paperless while air pillows replace serrated paper in padding for shipments.
The investment has created 60 jobs with employees responsible for receiving, storing, picking and packing, shipping, returning and labelling medical devices. An additional 20 jobs will be created when a second phase sterilization operation is added in 2014.
The grand opening today will, among other key officials, be attended by Bill Doherty, Mayor of Baesweiler Willi Linkens, and Stephan Jungen of the North Rhine Westphalia development agency. Officials from Cook’s US headquarters also participated in the event.
Washington, D.C. — Cook Medical, a world leader in minimally invasive medical device technology, has launched its new Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery (OHNS) clinical division to bring the benefits of the company’s devices for non-surgical procedures to a new group of physicians and the patients they treat.
Recognizing the need for specialized minimally invasive devices in otolaryngology, Cook OHNS is researching and developing alternatives to open surgery for treating conditions across several traditional ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialties.
Cook officially unveiled the new clinical division and a selection of its current and upcoming products —salivary duct access tools, stone extractor set, Biodesign® dural advanced tissue graft, Hercules® 3 Stage Wire Guided Balloon and the Chiba EchoTip® Biopsy Needle—at the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) conference in Washington, D.C., this week.
The division’s initial six practice areas of focus are soft tissue repair, salivary gland disease, chronic sinusitis, vocal cord paralysis, obstructive sleep apnea, and interventional airway and esophageal procedures. There is great potential within these six areas to bring new treatment options, many of which are alternatives to open surgery, to millions of patients in the U.S. and globally, Cook officials said.
“We started Cook OHNS to pioneer ways to provide patients with diseases affecting the head and neck with less traumatic alternatives to surgeries. As we met with physicians, we heard loud and clear that they saw many opportunities for minimally invasive medical devices in this field,” said Thomas Cherry, global leader for Cook Medical’s OHNS division. “At our core, we’ve always solved problems for clinicians over Cook’s entire history. So now, Cook OHNS is taking proven interventional tools and techniques and applying them to the emerging science of minimally invasive otolaryngology and head and neck surgery.”
Cook will showcase the following products at AAO-HNS:
Salivary Duct Access Products: Intended to reduce trauma for the patient and reduce the need for open surgery, the tools in this product line help physicians perform minimally invasive sialendoscopy procedures. The devices, which include a wire guide, dilator set, Kolenda introducer sheath and the NGage® and NCircle® salivary stone extractors, help enable physicians to gain access to stones and remove them in the physician’s office without surgery.
Hercules 3 Stage Esophageal Balloon: The Hercules 3 Stage Esophageal Balloon is designed to treat abnormal narrowing of the digestive tract that can interfere with eating, swallowing and digestion. The device is made with proprietary P.E.T. Flex™ technology, a material that optimally combines the high tensile strength and flexibility necessary for a strong balloon that inflates to three distinct and increasing diameters.
Chiba EchoTip Biopsy Needle: The high-visibility EchoTip biopsy needle allows physicians to perform thyroid biopsy with a needle that can be easily seen under ultrasound. High visibility results in more accurate needle placement and reduces the number of needle passes needed to obtain a sufficient sample. The Chiba EchoTip biopsy needle design provides enhanced visualization of needle tip when used with ultrasonic imaging equipment to ensure a strong, hyperechoic reflection and clearly visible images.
“There is a definite need for true out-of-the-box thinking around minimally invasive medical technology for OHNS,” said Patrick Melder, M.D., of ENT Associates of North Georgia and a presenter at the AAO-HNS conference. “Cook Medical has a solid and lengthy track record in innovating minimally invasive technologies, and has the ability to help transform the way we may approach such things as reducing post-tonsillectomy pain or advancing our understanding of the treatment of sinusitis.”
“For months, Thomas Cherry kept saying we could help a large group of patients if we could make our products available to them, and he was right. He was doing what Cook has always done; listened to physicians, heard what they needed and given them the tools to treat patients in a better way,” explained Pete Yonkman, executive vice president of strategic business units for Cook Medical.
OHNS is Cook’s 10th active clinical division. The company currently operates Aortic Intervention, Critical Care, Endoscopy, Interventional Radiology, Lead Management, Peripheral Intervention, Surgery, Urology and Women’s Health divisions as well. Dr. Melder is a paid consultant to Cook Medical with respect to its medical devices.
About Cook Medical
A global pioneer in medical breakthroughs, Cook Medical is committed to creating effective solutions that benefit millions of patients worldwide. Today, we combine medical devices, drugs, biologic grafts and cell therapies across more than 16,000 products serving 41 medical specialties. Founded in 1963 by a visionary who put patient needs and ethical business practices first, Cook is a family-owned company that has created more than 10,000 jobs worldwide. For more information, visit www.cookmedical.com. Follow Cook Medical on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Bloomington, Ind. – With the U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Cook Medical now calls for the U.S. Senate to repeal the 2.3 percent medical device excise tax included in that legislation.
“The U.S. House of Representatives has passed, in a bi-partisan vote, legislation to repeal this job-killing tax that puts the health of the American public at risk as companies like Cook have to pay this tax instead of investing in new medical technologies that can save lives,” said Steve Ferguson, chairman of Cook Group. “Now that we know the ACA will not be overturned, the Senate needs to follow the House’s lead and act in the best interests of American patients and American companies who produce these vital medical technologies. Repealing the tax, which is on top line revenues of all companies that sell medical devices in the U.S., is a critical imperative that saves jobs and drives continued medical treatment innovation here at home.”
The threat of the imminent tax has already led companies to move existing manufacturing jobs offshore and plan for future growth outside the U.S., Ferguson added.
“This misguided tax will have a drastic ripple effect on patients, who will be deprived of breakthroughs, research and development, suppliers and local businesses in thousands of communities. We strongly encourage the Senate to repeal the excise tax,” Ferguson said.
About Cook Medical
A global pioneer in medical breakthroughs, Cook Medical is committed to creating effective solutions that benefit millions of patients worldwide. Today, we combine medical devices, drugs, biologic grafts and cell therapies across more than 16,000 products serving more than 40 medical specialties. Founded in 1963 by a visionary who put patient needs and ethical business practices first, Cook is a family-owned company that has created more than 10,000 jobs worldwide. For more information, visit www.cookmedical.com. Follow Cook Medical on Twitter and LinkedIn.