IRELAND —Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is to invest€1.2 billion (US$1.26 billion) in its Grange Castle manufacturing facility in Dublin in the construction and development of a new manufacturing plant in Dublin.
The site expansion represents Pfizer’s largest investment in Ireland to date. The expansion includes the construction of a new facility on the premises as well as the addition of more laboratory space, and it will eventually double the capacity for “biological drug substance manufacturing” in oncology, rare diseases, inflammation, immunology, and internal medicines.
It is hoped that construction will begin in 2024 with the plant due for completion by 2027.
Pfizer employs 5,000 people in Ireland and currently, over 2,000 of those are employed at the Grange Castle site, which opened 20 years ago.
Pfizer expects to add 400-500 new employee positions, bringing its total number of employees in the country to around 5,500.
Pfizer has had operations in Ireland for over 50 years, having first set up a presence in the country in 1969.
And a Bloomberg report from the summer also said that Pfizer will spend US$470 million to expand its vaccine research facilities at its location in Pearl River, NY. Pfizer will look to construct a new building as well as renovate existing facilities on the campus.
Ireland has been a major center of activity for expansions in the manufacturing field this year too, with some big names looking to commit a large amount of money toward projects.
More recently, Ipsen, J&J, and AbbVie announced they were spending eight or nine figures worth of funds on expansion projects there.
In another separate development, Carrick Therapeutics, an oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing highly differentiated therapies has announced a US$35 million investment from Pfizer.
The investment is to support its rapid development of samuraciclib (CT-7001) in HR+, HER2- breast cancer, which represents more than two-thirds of all new female breast cancer cases.
Carrick and Pfizer have also entered into an agreement under which Pfizer will provide global development capabilities and expertise to support Carrick’s Phase 2 study of samuraciclib in combination with fulvestrant for CDK4/6i-resistant HR+, HER2- advanced breast cancer.
Carrick will maintain full economic ownership and control of samuraciclib and its pipeline. In conjunction with the investment, Adam Schayowitz, Ph.D., Vice President and Development Head, Breast Cancer, Colorectal Cancer and Melanoma, Pfizer Global Product Development, will join Carrick’s Scientific Advisory Board.
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