BM-S to Build Large-Scale Biologics Manufacturing Facility in Ireland
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Bristol-Myers Squibb (B-MS) has announced plans to build a new state-of-the-art, large-scale biologics manufacturing facility in Cruiserath, County Dublin, Ireland, that will produce multiple therapies for the company’s growing biologics portfolio.
B-MS has a robust and growing portfolio of approved and investigational biologic medicines across multiple therapeutic areas including oncology, virology and immunoscience. Biologics comprise more than half of B-MS’s research and development pipeline.
The 30,000m2 project will house six 15,000-litre bioreactors and a purification area as well as office and laboratory space. The plant will be built on the grounds of the company’s existing bulk pharmaceutical manufacturing plant.
The full cost of the facility, expected to be finalised in the second half of 2015, is expected to be comparable to the approximately US$900m investment to construct and bring on stream the company’s biologics manufacturing facility in Devens, Massachusetts.
Once complete the facility will employ approximately 350 to 400 scientists, engineers, bioprocess operators, quality specialists and other skilled professionals, and the construction programme is expected to create about 1,000 jobs. The completion of the facility, including commissioning and validation, is expected to take approximately four years and is estimated to be operational in 2019.
'Our investment in this new facility reflects the strength of our business and the increasingly important role that biologic medicines will play in Bristol-Myers Squibb’s future,' said Lamberto Andreotti, chief executive officer, Bristol-Myers Squibb. 'For 50 years, Bristol-Myers Squibb has maintained a significant manufacturing presence in Ireland, and we look forward to building on that legacy through this significant expansion of our manufacturing capability.'
