Abbott investing in Clonmel facility for the research and development of new heart stents

Tipperary facility has developed a new family of stents to treat cardiovascular 

Abbott's vascular R&D facility in Clonmel. Picture: Denis Minihane.

Healthcare multinational Abbott is to invest €37.8m at its heart stent manufacturing facility in Clonmel.

Both the research and development of the new 'Xience' family of devices along with the manufacturing will take place at the Tipperary facility.

The Irish team spent three years developing the stent which is being used worldwide in patients who might not previously have been suitable for minimally invasive surgery. 

Abbott serves the Irish market with a range of products including diagnostics, medical devices and nutritional products. The company employs almost 4,000 people here across nine sites with six manufacturing facilities located in Clonmel, Cootehill, Donegal, Longford and Sligo and a third-party manufacturing management operation in Sligo. 

Abbott also has commercial, support operations and shared services in Dublin and Galway. This year, the company is celebrating 75 years in Ireland.

“Our market-leading Xience stents were developed in Clonmel and today’s announcement places us at the vanguard of Abbott’s global research efforts in cardiovascular treatments," Deirdre Mullins, site director, Abbott in Clonmel said.

"We are very proud that the life-changing technologies we design and manufacture in Clonmel are saving lives in Ireland and across the world."

Tánaiste & Minister for Enterprise Leo Varadkar said Abbott was one of the first US companies to establish operations in Ireland and is one of our largest med-tech employers. Today’s announcement reflects Abbott's ongoing commitment to Ireland. It is also a tribute to the management and staff of Abbott’s vascular division in Clonmel, who have played a pivotal role in the global success of Abbott’s Xience Sierra stent."