Covidien Invests $21M to Open New R&D, Training Center in South Korea

Covidien announced Tuesday that the company is opening its first research and development, and training center in South Korea.

Called the Covidien Center of Innovation Korea, the nearly 20,000-square foot facility will cost $21 million over three years. It will incorporate surgical labs with 11 operating stations, an intensive care unit lab and state-of-the-art technology to help train physicians who will learn more about Covidien's devices and technologies.

Physicians affiliated with Korean Surgical Society and the Korean Society for Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery will start training there as part of memorandum of agreements that Covidien signed earlier this year with the two groups.

“Korea is a key market in our global strategy, and this investment is a reflection of our commitment to partnering with Korean healthcare professionals," said Mr. Brian King, Covidien's president of Emerging Markets.

The opening of the Korea facility comes a little over a year after Covidien announced the official opening the $45 million China Technology Center, a R&D facility in Shanghai. 

But Covidien is not the only medical technology company that is keen to capitalize on emerging markets and focus on local R&D, amidst a challenging U.S. market environment.

Last August, Medtronic also announced the opening of an R&D center in Shanghai. In March 2011, St. Jude Medical opened a technology training center in Beijing. In June 2011, Boston Scientific announced a five-year, $150 million investment in China that included the development of a training center.

[Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com user ssiltane]

-- By Arundhati Parmar, Senior Editor, MD+DI
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