The Tánaiste, Ms Harney, yesterday hailed the announcement of a $650 million (€540 million)investment by a US biopharmaceutical company in a 330-job facility in Cork as a significant breakthrough for Ireland in its bid to become the leading location in the world for the sector.
Ms Harney said that the decision by Centocor - a global leader in biopharmaceuticals and a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson - to locate its new plant at Ringaskiddy was a hugely significant development for Ireland's economic strategy.
"Centocor's investment will be pivotal to Ireland's quest to be the number one location of choice worldwide for major biopharmaceutical activity," said the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, adding that the investment, which will see the recruitment of 330 staff over five years, augurs well for further investment by the company and the sector in the Cork area.
"It's the second-biggest investment announced this year and the biggest investment in Cork in a number of years, but what's significant is that what's announced today is phase one of the project.
"I have no doubt if the experience continues to be positive, this will be an industry which will grow very substantially here and which will employ very highly skilled people," Ms Harney said.
Construction of the plant is expected to begin early next year, subject to completion of planning and licensing applications for a 100-acre IDA Ireland site at Barnahely in Ringaskiddy, with the facility incorporating a centre that will provide for the development of new production processes for products coming through clinical trial stages.
Ms Harney paid tribute to IDA Ireland for its role in securing the investment. "This is a major investment for IDA Ireland and can only be described as a major coup for the country."
She also acknowledged both University College Cork and Cork Institute of Technology for their parts in producing highly skilled graduates essential to the attraction of such investment.
Mr Robert Sheroff, president of global biologics supply chain at Centocor, said that the Cork plant would help the company as it built on its position as one of the largest biopharmaceutical companies in the world.
The biopharmaceutical sector was currently growing at a rate of 15 per cent per annum, he added
Centocor was dedicated to the research and development of treatments for a wide range of diseases including cancer, infectious diseases, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases as well as immune-mediated inflammatory disorders such as arthritis and inflammatory skin diseases, he explained.
Mr Sheroff said demand for the development and manufacture of biopharmaceutical solutions was set to accelerate rapidly and the company's priority was to address this and have increased manufacturing capacity available to grow its business.
"It is our parent group's long-term experience in Ireland which was a major factor in our choice of location," said Mr Sheroff, adding that Cork also offered a strategic proximity to the company's largest biopharm plant in Leiden in the Netherlands.
