Stryker invests €200 million in R&D at three of its facilities in Ireland
Medical technology company Stryker Corporation, headquartered in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA, is set to invest over €200 million in Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I) projects at three of its five facilities in Cork, Ireland. The company provides products and solutions in the orthopaedics, medical and surgical, and neurotechnology and spine sectors and has six locations in Ireland. In 2018, the company invested over 6% of its global sales in research and development.
The R&D programme is intended to help the company to advance medical technologies. Spencer Stiles, Group President, Neurotechnology, Instruments and Spine, Stryker Corporation, stated “Our mission is driven by a collaborative focus, leveraging the knowledge and experience of our talent across the globe. Our team in Ireland has built considerable Research and Development and New Product Development (NPD) capabilities through the partnership of multiple divisions, over the past twenty years, in an effort to serve multiple market segments.”
Stiles added, “The continued growth and investment in Ireland is the result of many factors, inclusive of the Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I) support from IDA Ireland and the partnerships built with leading Irish universities and research centres. The support from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) has allowed access to incredibly talented engineers and scientists based in Ireland.”
Stryker’s facilities in Ireland use metal Additive Manufacturing in the series production of medical technology, including its spinal implants. In March 2018, the company’s Spine Division received 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin commercialising its AM Tritanium® TL Curved Posterior Lumbar Cage, built using AMagine™, the company’s proprietary approach to implant creation using Additive Manufacturing.
