Pfizer is expanding two of its manufacturing sites in Ireland in a US$130m investment to enable more advanced, complex drugs to be produced.
The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical firm will spend $100m at the Grange Castle site in Dublin and $30m at Ringaskiddy in Cork.
The investment at Grange Castle will be used to expand the unit that produces protein drug substance using mammalian cell culture biotechnology for Pfizer’s biologic rheumatoid arthritis treatment Xeljanz (tofacitinib) and a new production line will be established that will increase capacity and double productivity. Pfizer said this in turn will release capacity to allow new mammalian biotechnology drug substances from its pipeline to be manufactured at the site.
Preparation is underway to allow construction to begin with approximately 140 construction jobs over the next year, with a peak of 250 jobs. The facility will be operational in 2015, when the first process validation batches will be made.
Pfizer said the investment at Ringaskiddy will be used to develop specialist new capability to manufacture some of its newest medicines in cancer and other future pipeline medicines.
Paul Duffy, Pfizer’s Vice President of Manufacturing for Ireland, said the firm is ‘seeing the benefits of the investments we’ve been making in our innovative core, as evidenced by recent key launches of medicines for stroke prevention, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer, as well as significant progress within our mid-to-late stage product pipeline.’
He added that there is opportunity for Pfizer’s Irish sites to ‘attract the development of new medicines, while also continuing to manufacture existing, important medicines’.
There is opportunity for Pfizer’s Irish sites to attract the development of new medicines, while also continuing to manufacture existing, important medicines
‘Our Irish operations are significant and we have excellent colleagues across our sites, dedicated to the highest standards of manufacturing quality and excellence. This additional scale and capability arising from these investments ensure both sites are well placed for the future within the Pfizer global supply network,’ he said.
Barry O’Leary, IDA CEO, said: ‘The Ringaskiddy site was Pfizer’s first manufacturing facility in Ireland almost 45 years ago – it is fantastic to see the work at that site evolve into high-tech manufacturing.’
The latest investments are supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through IDA Ireland.
Pfizer has invested $7bn in operations in Ireland since opening the first site in 1969 and in 2011 announced a $200m investment at the Grange Castle site to develop a new suite to expand the manufacturing process for an invasive pneumococcal vaccine.
The firm employs approximately 3,200 people at six sites in the country across manufacturing, shared services, treasury and commercial operations.
