Letterkenny-UMass partnership announced: Senate President Murray,right, with Senator Stanley Rosenberg, center, and Letterkenny Institute of Technology President Paul Hannigan.Senate President Therese Murray, who is in Ireland for a trade mission with Sen. Stanley Rosenberg, visited County Donegal today to announced the expansion of the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2) to Letterkenny Institute of Technology. The UMass incubator initiative will also partner with the Derry-based Clinical Transitional Research and Innovation Centre (C-TRIC) in a partnership that will be announced formally on Monday in Northern Ireland.

Founded in 2008, M2D2 is a joint UMass Lowell and UMass Worcester initiative designed to accelerate the development and launch of new medical device companies. The opening of incubator space in Ireland and the North is the direct result of previous trade missions led by Murray.

“Massachusetts holds international recognition as a premiere research and development center for life sciences, biotechnology and medical devices,” President Murray said in a statement. “This exciting collaboration will offer assistance to Massachusetts-based companies looking to break into the European market while also attracting European companies that want to launch clinical trials in Massachusetts. Our shared goal is to create an environment where research, innovation and commercialization can all take place and this is a big step forward for innovators and entrepreneurs in Massachusetts and beyond.”

In addition to following M2D2’s business development model, M2D2 Northwest is intended to provide “soft landing” services for start-up companies and entrepreneurs based in Ireland and Northern Ireland seeking to do business in Massachusetts, and Massachusetts companies seeking to do business abroad.

"This collaboration lays the foundations using a proven formula for medical companies to thrive and develop," said Letterkenny Institute of Technology President Paul Hannigan. "Of course, it offers a corridor for medical device companies to connect to the US and for US companies to enter the European market. This partnership presents exciting possibilities for the commercialization of new ideas which will drive economic growth, knowledge exchange, research and student experience. We can now say categorically that the North West is a hub for medical device innovation.”

The partnership between UMass, Northern Ireland and Ireland will also include a monthly programming exchange between the universities and opportunities for research by faculty and graduate students researchers and shared grants.