Johnson & Johnson MedTech is expanding its stroke-focused R&D in Ireland, building on previous investments and coming on the heels of a new innovation center that was completed earlier this year in Galway.
The move coincides with the location hosting a meeting of J&J’s neurovascular global scientific advisory board, which includes physician leaders from the U.S., Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific regions.
The Galway site—first established in 2017—received new funding in 2022 to support R&D work, and also house engineering and manufacturing spaces. The latest projects will tackle the development of therapies for different types of stroke as well as liquid embolic procedures.
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According to an announcement from IDA Ireland, the country’s investment promotion agency, the program will “deepen its bench of engineering and scientific talent,” though amounts of any additional funding were not disclosed.
“By expanding our remit from ischemic stroke to include chronic subdural hematoma and other neurovascular conditions, our talented workforce in Galway is applying their scientific knowledge and engineering skills in new ways to find solutions to these life-threatening conditions,” said the site’s general manager, Michael Gilvarry, who also serves as head of R&D for J&J MedTech Neurovascular.
“Ireland is a critical part of our global innovation network, and this investment reflects our long-term commitment to building and advancing our neurovascular capabilities in the region for the benefit of patients around the world,” Gilvarry added.
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Galway also serves as a hub for J&J’s Neuro Thromboembolic Initiative, or NTI, which served as the scientific research arm for its previous Cerenovus division before the conglomerate consolidated the names of a number of its medtech brands under a single banner in 2024. NTI has worked to understand the underlying causes of stroke-causing blood clots and brain hemorrhages.
“Galway and the West Region has long been a cornerstone of Europe’s medical technology sector, and our ongoing partnership with Johnson & Johnson MedTech in the neurovascular space is a shining example of the region’s status as a key innovation hub,” said IDA Ireland CEO Michael Lohan. “The work at the Galway site, which is closely aligned to our new strategy, Adapt Intelligently, will not only create high-skilled opportunities for local talent but will also help shape the future of stroke care through cutting-edge innovation developed here in the west of Ireland.”
This month, J&J also spotlighted its research in stroke and chronic subdural hematomas at the annual meeting of the Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology held in Orlando, Florida—including scientific presentations on middle meningeal artery embolization and new data from its super large-bore Cereglide 92 aspiration catheter system, which launched in the U.S. in February.