Dive Brief:
- GE Healthcare says it will invest €150 million in a biopharmaceutical manufacturing campus in Cork, Ireland, that will help facilitate the manufacturing of difficult to make biopharma products in the country.
- Four prefabricated biologics factories are planned for its customers at GE BioPark Cork, with 500 jobs expected. Approximately 400 jobs will come from biopharma companies and 100 will be employed directly by GE.
- The company plans to establish a training collaboration with the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) to train 1,500 bioprocessing professionals each year in next-gen biologic manufacturing technologies.
Dive Insight:
GE Healthcare has this on-again, off again relationship with the United Kingdom.
In January, GE Healthcare said it is moving its headquarters from London to Chicago since most of its market is in the U.S. But it still wants to grow in the UK, as this plan suggests.
In a sweeping series of moves, GE’s says it is making these investments and changes in Ireland because of the rapid growth of biopharma around the world, driven by patients’ demands for innovative medicines. Ireland has become a hotbed for biotech activity over the last several years as many companies have sought to be located there due to the low corporate tax rate. Companies including Allergan, Shire, Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Alkermes are just a few that are located there.
Construction of the proposed GE BioPark Cork is expected to begin by mid-2017, depending on planning approvals, and create up to 800 jobs related to that work. GE Healthcare’s KUBio manufacturing process includes delivery of functional, ready-to-go facilities in 14 to 18 months.
In an announcement, Ireland’s minister Mitchell O’Connor noted that 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."