Monday, 2nd November 2020 - Today Pfizer is announcing approximately €300 million capital investment in its Irish operations which will support the further development of existing manufacturing sites in Grange Castle, Newbridge and Ringaskiddy. The investment will provide additional manufacturing and laboratory capacity creating approximately 300 roles, with additional anticipated construction roles in Ringaskiddy, Cork.  The investment and additional roles will be completed over the next two to three years.

The investment and roles being created will upgrade and enhance existing facilities, expand manufacturing and laboratory capacity and add new technologies to ensure Pfizer is ready to support the next wave of medical innovations. Part of the investment includes the initial stage of a project to construct a development facility on the existing Ringaskiddy site to manufacture pharmaceutical compounds for Pfizer’s clinical trials globally. This is a very important development as it expands Pfizer’s role in Ireland from the manufacture of already approved medicines into supporting the earlier phases of new medicine development.

The Irish sites manufacture leading medicines and vaccines in the areas of arthritis, inflammation, cancer, anti-infectives, haemophilia, pain and stroke. The roles being recruited for comprise a broad range of highly skilled roles including; analysts, technicians, engineers, scientists, technologists, quality specialists, data analysts and chemists.

An Taoiseach Micheál Martin commented: “This significant jobs and investment announcement by Pfizer is a further vote of confidence in the skills and talent of Irish people and provides a very welcome boost to the economy. Pfizer’s footprint in Ireland was first established in Ringaskiddy in Cork in 1969, marking the beginning of a new era of pharmaceutical investment in Ireland.

“Over the past five decades, there has been a huge expansion of the sector in this country, creating thousands of jobs and solidifying Ireland’s reputation as a world leader in pharmaceutical innovation and manufacturing. Pfizer has made a significant contribution to the Irish economy and this latest investment is a testament to the quality and experience of the workforce here.”

Dr. Paul Duffy, Vice President, Pfizer Global Supply said: “Pharmaceutical manufacturing in Ireland continues to perform very well contributing strongly to exports and economic growth and provides excellent career opportunities. Pfizer has an extensive global and U.S. footprint with operations in over 125 countries worldwide and we are very pleased with today’s announcements which will strengthen our Irish operations and bring our total headcount in Ireland to 4,000. It is also particularly exciting that our Ringaskiddy site has been chosen as the location to manufacture investigational compounds for our clinical trials globally and we look forward to seeing that new facility become operational.”

Paul Reid, Country Manager, Pfizer Healthcare Ireland, commented: “Our purpose is to discover breakthrough medicines that change patients’ lives and these new positions are key roles within the organisation and play an important function in the manufacturing and delivery of medicines to patients worldwide.

“Currently we are focused on our COVID-19 efforts, including our vaccine development program. Pfizer is also significantly investing in other innovations across healthcare – such as gene therapy and complex biologics targeting some of the most debilitating medical conditions.” 

Martin Shanahan, CEO, IDA Ireland, said: “Pfizer is one of Ireland’s largest pharmaceutical investors. This investment announcement and the substantial number of additional highly skilled roles across its three Irish sites is a huge vote of confidence in Ireland’s investment environment and again underscores Ireland’s reputation as a global location of excellence for biopharmaceuticals. I wish the Pfizer team continued success with this expansion.”

Details of all roles are available on careers.pfizer.com. 

Published: 2nd November 2020.