Amgen to Invest $1 Billion in Manufacturing in Ireland

PharmaManufacturing.com
02/02/2006

The Irish Government announced Jan. 24 that Amgen, the world’s largest biotechnology company, intends to build process development, bulk manufacturing and fill and finish facilities in Cork, Ireland. Amgen will invest more than $1 billion (€0.82 billion) in the new projects, which will be initiated later this year. The company expects to begin operating some of the facilities in 2009; by 2010, these operations will employ more than 1,100 people in Cork.

“Amgen is pleased to establish a site in Ireland as part of our ongoing global development and manufacturing expansion,” said Dr. Fabrizio Bonanni, senior vice president, Manufacturing, Amgen. “As demand for our products grows in Europe, Amgen requires capacity closer to this important market.”

Bonanni added, “The company considered several attractive sites in other countries for these investments and chose Ireland due to its thriving biotechnology community, infrastructure to support biologics manufacturing, the attractive business climate, and the support of the Irish Government and IDA Ireland. Our new facility will help to improve our ability to deliver on Amgen’s robust pipeline.”

Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin TD said: “The scale of the development and manufacturing investments from Amgen, a company with world-class R&D, a proven ability to manufacture and sell blockbuster products, is a major endorsement of Ireland and of our work to become a center of excellence for biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing. We are currently achieving critical mass of global significance in biopharmaceuticals with many of the major investments already secured from world-leading companies in the biotechnology industry. This addition of the world’s biggest biotechnology company is a superb development and it was secured by IDA Ireland in the face of intense competition from other highly competitive locations worldwide.”

Martin went on to say; “These investments further validate the decisions by the Government over recent years to invest in the development of Ireland’s support infrastructure for the Biotechnology industry. The investment, through Science Foundation Ireland, in biotechnology research in our universities and the more recent decision to establish the National Institute of Bioprocessing Research and Training are initiatives which have improved our competitiveness and will provide substantive support to Amgen as it grows and develops its business here in Ireland.”

For more on about Amgen, visit www.amgen.com. For further information on IDA Ireland, the Irish Government’s agency for attracting foreign investment, contact:

Michael Stapleton
Vice President, Life Sciences
IDA Ireland
Wilton Park House
Wilton Place
Dublin 2
Tel: 353 1 603 4000
www.idaireland.com