Asean economic ministers tour covidien medical device facility

June 11, 2013 | 18:00

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A delegation of Trade and Economic Ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region today toured Covidien’s state-of-the-art manufacturing and research and development facility in Irvine, California.

Covidien, a leading global provider of healthcare products, manufactures neurovascular devices at the facility, which are used around the world as part of minimally-invasive surgical procedures to treat and save the lives of stroke victims.

“It was important to visit this facility in order to learn about some of the most advanced technologies in the medical device industry, and how these can contribute to bettering the health and lives of many people in our region," Lim Hong Hin, deputy secretary-general of ASEAN for ASEAN Economic Community said.

Organised by the US-ASEAN Business Councilof Washington, the group is visiting several enterprises in the US, but Covidien’s plant is the only healthcare manufacturing facility visited by the delegation during their week long trip. The visit will conclude on June 13 in Washington.

Harry de Wit, President, Asia, Covidien said: “Several of the products manufactured at our facility are already used by neurointerventionalists in some markets in ASEAN. These products have the potential to limit or prevent the damage a stroke can haveon the brain.Access to these products is a major shift in neurosurgery – it moves us from opensurgery to minimally invasive techniques. I hope this visit will further open the door for these life-saving technologies in the Asian markets.”

With 2012 revenue of $11.9 billion, Covidien has 43,000 employees worldwide in 70 countries, and its products are sold in over 140 countries.

By By Hoang Anh

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