Pharmaceutical company Pfizer is to create up to 250 construction jobs on the back of investments worth US$130m for two of its Irish plants.
The investments will be used to upgrade Pfizer’s plants in Ringaskiddy in Cork and Grange Castle in Dublin.
Some US$100m is being invested in the Dublin site, and the remainder will be spent on the Cork facility.
The upgraded sites will be able to produce more advanced, complex drug therapies for difficult-to-cure diseases.
Dr Paul Duffy, vice-president of Pfizer, said the company is seeing the benefits of the investments it has been making in innovation, as shown by recent launches of medicines for stroke prevention, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer, as well as progress within its mid-to-late-stage product pipeline.
“There is opportunity for Pfizer’s Irish sites to attract the development of new medicines, while also continuing to manufacture existing, important medicines,” Duffy said.
“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.”
Key location: Ireland
Ireland’s Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton, TD, said the investments are confirmation that the Government is taking the right steps to ensure Ireland is a key location for companies like Pfizer to expand and grow their business.
“I am determined to ensure that we build on such success and provide the opportunities for further growth in this sector and create the jobs we so badly need,” Bruton said.
“Pharmaceuticals and life sciences, generally, is a hugely important sector for the Irish economy and the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs includes a series of measures to sustain and grow this sector.”
The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through IDA Ireland is supporting the investments.