Boston Scientific shutters Irish facility

Boston Scientific, which employs approximately 4,500 people in Ireland, will close its Co Donegal facility in Letterkenny, Ireland, next year.

The Natick, Mass.-based company said that most of the manufacturing currently carried out at the Letterkenny plant would switch to its Galway facility. The company said opportunities would be made available for workers at Letterkenny to voluntarily move to the Galway facility. About 120 people are employed at the site, which has been operating since 1992.

In August 2008, Boston Scientific announced the closure of its plant in Tullamore, Ireland, with the loss of 240 jobs.

The company, which recently acquired Labcoat, a small drug-eluting stent development company in Galway, Ireland, said it remained committed to its operations in Ireland.

In September 2008, Boston Scientific invested €50 million ($70.73 million, U.S.) for a research and development facility in Galway.

Around the web

RBMA President Peter Moffatt discusses declining reimbursement rates, recruiting challenges and the role of artificial intelligence in transforming the industry.

Deepak Bhatt, MD, director of the Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital and principal investigator of the TRANSFORM trial, explains an emerging technique for cardiac screening: combining coronary CT angiography with artificial intelligence for plaque analysis to create an approach similar to mammography.

A total of 16 cardiology practices from 12 states settled with the DOJ to resolve allegations they overbilled Medicare for imaging agents used to diagnose cardiovascular disease.