Limerick-based multinational calls for extension of Brexit agreement

COOK Medical, which employs 850 people in Plassey, has called on the British government and the EU to push for an extension of a key Brexit agreement to 2025.

Co​ok, which produces high-tech stents for patients requiring heart surgery, wants the deadline for a transition agreement on medical devices moved to 2025.

Cook says extending the transition period would provide the medtech industry with additional time to meet new British regulatory agreements, and protect the supply chain.

“Patient need and wellbeing isn’t at the forefront of conversations about Brexit trade restrictions,” said Emmett Devereux, regulatory affairs director at Cook Medical.

Employing over 38,000 people in Ireland, the medtech industry generates approximately 10 percent of all Irish exports, worth €12.6 billion to the economy: “Considering the importance of medtech to the Irish economy, we believe it is not only in the industry’s best interests, but ultimately in the interests of patients that the transition agreement is extended to avoid disruption,” added Mr Devereux.