Pfizer’s €1.2 billion manufacturing site expansion

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Pfizer Inc. has announced it will invest over €1.2 billion in its manufacturing site in Grange Castle, Dublin, the company’s biggest expansion investment to date in Ireland. A new facility will be built on the site premises, doubling the capacity for biologics manufacturing at the facility. It is anticipated a further 400-500 roles will be created, bringing the total Pfizer employees in Ireland to around 5,500.

Pfizer’s €1.2 billion investment

The investment will support the addition of new technologies to ensure Pfizer is ready to facilitate the next generation of medical innovations, and to help increase capacity for licensed and pipeline products in oncology, rare disease, inflammation & immunology and internal medicines. The project is in the initial design phase, with construction expected to commence on the site in 2024. The facility is planned for completion in 2027.

In 2021, the company invested €40 million in its Grange Castle facility. The firm’s manufacturing sites in Grange Castle, Newbridge, Co. Kildare and Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork all produce medicines and vaccines for arthritis, inflammation, cancer, anti-infectives, haemophilia, pain and stroke.

Pfizer state that at present, the Grange Castle site is one of the largest integrated biotechnology plants in the world, supporting the production of large-scale mammalian cell culture, protein purification, vaccines conjugation as well as aseptic syringe filling.

Commenting on the investment being Pfizer’s biggest ever expansion in Ireland, An Taoiseach Micheál Martin affirmed it is “… a considerable vote of confidence in the talent of our workforce, and our economy.”

Mike McDermott, Chief Global Supply Officer, Executive Vice President at Pfizer added: “Grange Castle has played a critical role in our global COVID-19 vaccine network, and this investment for non-COVID licensed and pipeline products, will help to further expand the site’s broad and robust capabilities. We continue to invest in our global manufacturing infrastructure to bring much-needed medicines and vaccines to patients, around the world, and to deliver the next scientific breakthroughs.”