Pharma giant MSD is buying the Dundalk-based vaccines plant of Chinese rival Wuxi in a €500 million deal.
Wuxi invested €200 million in 2019 to build the plant, which currently employs 200 people, alongside a biologics facilities it continues to operate. MSD says it will add 150 jobs to the Dundalk plant over the coming year.
The plant has been working exclusively with MSD on a 20-year vaccine supply contract since it was formally opened. The two companies said the transition is expected to be completed in the first half of the year.
Wuxi currently manufactures drug substance and, subsequently, vaccine product at the 15,520 square metre, three-story plant, which also houses quality control labs.
MSD said the Dundalk deal further diversified the group’s network in Ireland where each of its eight sites – including its five manufacturing facilities – operate in different segments of its business.
The US group does have another vaccine plant in Ireland – in Carlow – but it is understood the Dundalk site is the only live virus vaccine facility in MSD’s Irish network.
Live vaccines use a weakened form of the germ that causes a disease to create a longer-lasting immune response, where just one or two doses can protect a person for many years against the condition. They are used to protect against diseases, including smallpox, chickenpox, yellow fever, rotavirus and measles, mumps and rubella.
MSD said the acquisition would strengthen its footprint in Ireland, where it will now have eight sites employing over 3,000 people. The company said it expects to grow job numbers by around 1,000 over the next 12 months in the State.
The acquisition comes just ahead of the return of president-elect Donald Trump to the White House later this month with a policy platform that is expected to pressurise US multinationals to prioritise investment locally.
A spokesman for MSD said: “As part of MSD’s continuous assessment of its operations and evolving business needs, the company believes that the Wuxi Vaccines facility aligns well with our business objectives.”
The Financial Times reported late last year that Wuxi was reviewing the future of its plants across Europe against a background of new US legislation that could make it more difficult for the company to work with US companies after 2032.
An Taoiseach Simon Harris said the announcement was “highly welcome” and a “tremendous vote of confidence in the people of Dundalk and Co Louth”.
Samantha Humphreys, managing director of MSD Ireland Human Health, said the company’s continued expansion in Ireland was “testament to the unique ecosystem around us, and in particular speaks to the passion, commitment and talent of our existing 3,000-strong workforce and what they have been able to accomplish for our global network”.
“I am very proud to be part of this exciting new chapter as we continue to expand, adding new capabilities and challenging ourselves to look at the health requirements of the future.”
IDA Ireland chief executive Michael Lohan, said it was exciting to see MSD, which has been operating in Ireland for nearly 50 years, “deepen and broaden its roots all across the country”.
The head of MSD’s manufacturing division, Sanat Chattopadhyay, said MSD’s manufacturing footprint in Ireland was unparalleled. He said the acquisition of the Wuxi site would help his company advance the future of health through innovation and acceleration “to deliver for people and patients faster, looking at the health challenges of today and tomorrow”.
- Sign up for the Business Today newsletter and get the latest business news and commentary in your inbox every weekday morning
- Opt in to Business push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Our Inside Business podcast is published weekly – Find the latest episode here
