From left: Ipsen CEO David Loew, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, TD and Ipsen Ireland general manager and VP of manufacturing Tim Shanahan. Image: Alan Rowlette
The company plans to invest a further €15m into the Blanchardstown site, which develops drugs for treating patients with rare and life-limiting conditions.
Biopharma company Ipsen has launched its upgraded Dublin manufacturing site after investing €52m.
The French-listed company extended the Blanchardstown facility as it looks to enhance the production of treatments for patients with rare and life-limiting conditions.
The biopharma firm first shared plans to invest €25m into the facility in June 2021, before announcing a planned €27m boost for the site last December.
Ipsen said the expanded site has already helped boost active pharmaceutical ingredient production by 10pc this year compared to 2021.
Ipsen CEO David Loew said the Irish market plays “an important role” for the company’s international network.
“This new investment in Dublin is a milestone in our ongoing journey of innovation and our growing footprint in Ireland,” Loew said. “Now we welcome the continued efforts of the Irish Government to invest in the innovative medicines that will enable Ipsen Ireland to transform even more patients’ lives.”
Ipsen said it plans to invest a further €15m into its Blanchardstown site between 2023 and 2026.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, TD, welcomed the upgrade and said Ipsen has made “significant investment” in the facility.
“It’s great to see a biopharmaceutical company which has been here for over 30 years continuing to invest and grow in Ireland, particularly when the goal is to help more patients achieve a better quality of life through its medicines.
“Ireland is a world hub for life sciences and we’ve worked hard to create a welcoming environment for companies. We also want to be a global leader in innovation.”
Ipsen sells medicines in more than 100 countries worldwide. The company has a direct commercial presence in more than 35 countries and had speciality care sales of more than €2.6bn in 2021.
The company has been based in Ireland for more than 30 years and currently employs 175 people at the Blanchardstown site.
Liza O’Brien of Ipsen’s HR team in Ireland spoke to SiliconRepublic.com last year about working in biopharma and how the public’s perception of the industry has changed since the Covid-19 pandemic.
10 things you need to know direct to your inbox every weekday. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of essential sci-tech news.
