Pfizer, BMS, and Genzyme Launch R&D Projects in Ireland

PharmaManufacturing.com
07/22/2005

By Agnes Shanley, Editor in Chief

On July 20, the Irish government and three leading pharmaceutical companies announced major R&D investments supported by Ireland's Industrial Development Authority (IDA). Together with investments by the IT and process-control firm Xilinx and the financial services company Citigroup, the pharmaceutical R&D projects will account for roughly $63.8 million in funding.

“The level of activity which will be carried out by these companies is immensely important,” said Micheál Martin, the Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, “because of the strategically vital contribution that research makes to global corporations… The Ireland of the future will be one where education, skills and research are the defining advantages in an increasingly competitive world.” Below are summaries of what each company is doing:

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. will establish a collaborative biopharmaceutical research program with Dublin City University and the National University of Ireland in Galway. A leading goal of the effort is to develop technology that will productivity and generate savings of $40 to $80 million per year for a typical medium to large biomanufacturing production line. BMS’ university partners will be free to commercialize any intellectual property that results from this project. Developing process analytics for biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing will be a key focus. The project will ultimately involve 32 researchers, 25 from academia and seven from the company, a four-year commitment, and funding of over $10 million.

Pfizer, Inc. will be investing over $22 million in a high-containment development facility at Ringaskiddy, County Cork, which the company hopes will enhance the facility’s future development capability. “The investment will be instrumental in enhancing the facility’s technical capability and interaction with R&D at an early stage in the life cycle of new products,” said Nat Ricciardi, president of Pfizer’s global manufacturing.

Genzyme Corp. will invest $8 million to expand its process research and development facility in Waterford. The company has operated in Ireland for the past three years, since it established solid dosage pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals capacity on the island. The company already has a 5,000-square-foot R&D facility that manufactures tablets of Renagel, a dialysis treatment product. Genzyme now plans to extend its product line, and its investment will support clinical trial work, allowing the company to produce clinical supplies in capsule and liquid, as well as current tablet form.

Citigroup, meanwhile, will establish an R&D Center of Excellence, the first of its kind in Ireland, at an investment of over $12 million. Xilinx, a manufacturer of programmable logic solutions, will establish an R&D center in Dublin, involving an investment of roughly $9 million.