Ireland’s minister for jobs, enterprise and innovation, Mary Mitchel O’Connor has announced that digital industrial company GE will invest €150 million in a new biopharmaceutical manufacturing campus.
GE EPM
The announcement comes from the biopharmaceutical industry’s need for rapid growth and production capacity, due to patient demand for advanced medicines.
The campus is intended to feature Europe’s first KUBio, prefabricated, off-the-shelf bio-manufacturing facilities and will compromise single-use bioprocessing technology according to GE Healthcare. Other benefits include a possible 75% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and an 80% reduction in energy.
Ireland’s inward investment group, Industrial Development Agency (IDA) announced that the manufacturing campus will be situated on its strategic site in Ringaskiddy, Cork.
The project will generate over 500 new jobs within biopharma companies and GE itself. Construction, which is expected to begin next year will create up to 800 jobs.
GE plan to build four KUBio factories, owned by independent biopharma companies, with GE running centralised shared utilities and site services.
The GE BioPark Cork hopes to continue the strong investment into Ireland’s biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry, which has seen over €10bn of biotech investment in the past 10 years.
To further Ireland’s manufacturing skill and expertise in biopharmaceuticals, GE and the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) have announced a plan to create a collaborative training centre that will train up to 1,500 bioprocessing professionals per year.
Minister Mitchell O’Connor said: "The Biopharma industry makes a huge contribution to the Irish economy in terms of jobs and manufacturing exports, and is one of the fastest growing sectors. I am delighted that GE is making a significant investment in Cork. This is a further testament to our talented workforce. All investment and jobs created has a positive knock on effect on the wider region. Over 28,000 people currently work in biopharma and 6,000 of those work in biologics. This subsector is expected to double in the coming years and will provide both a challenge and an opportunity for the industry and training providers to collaborate on promoting the range of career opportunities available. I welcome GE's commitment to Ireland and wish them every success in the future."