Bristol-Myers Squibb to set up biologics facility in Ireland

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS) is planning to construct a new large-scale biologics manufacturing facility in Cruiserath, County Dublin, Ireland, that will produce multiple therapies for the company’s growing biologics portfolio. Once completed, the new facility will significantly increase Bristol-Myers Squibb’s biologics manufacturing capacity and play a central role in its global manufacturing network.
 
Bristol-Myers Squibb has a robust and growing portfolio of approved and investigational biologic medicines across multiple therapeutic areas including oncology, virology and immunoscience. Biologic medicines are an increasingly important tool in the treatment of serious diseases and comprise more than half of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s research and development pipeline.
 
“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. 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,” said Lamberto Andreotti, chief executive officer, BMS.
 
The 30,000-square meter project will house six 15,000-liter 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.
 
Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Board of Directors has approved initial funding that will support the first phase of the project. The full cost of the facility, expected to be finalised in the second half of 2015, is anticipated to be comparable to the approximately $900 million investment to construct and operationalise the company’s biologics manufacturing facility in Devens, Massachusetts.
 
The completion of the facility, including commissioning and validation, is anticipated to take approximately four years and is estimated to be operational in 2019.