MeiraGTx is recruiting for positions in engineering, QA, and manufacturing and supply.
Biotech company MeiraGTx has today (16 September) formally opened its gene therapy manufacturing facility in Shannon.
The facility has the potential to create 100 jobs in its current phase, with plans to increase this to 300 over time. Currently, there are 75 people employed at the facility and MeiraGTx is recruiting for positions in engineering, QA and manufacturing and supply.
The facility has been online since early this year, but only celebrated its formal site opening today.
The Shannon site will enable MeiraGTx to accelerate the development and delivery of gene therapy treatments to patients. The treatments will focus on those facing a range of both genetic and non-hereditary disorders, such as inherited vision loss, salivary-gland conditions and neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s.
The facility will also allow MeiraGTx to provide manufacturing services to potential collaborators.
The site contains three different facilities. One facility was built to be flexible and scalable for viral vector production for clinical and commercial supply. Another facility is dedicated to the manufacturing of plasmid DNA, which is the critical starting material for producing gene therapy products. There is also a quality control hub performing advanced biochemical quality control testing for MeiraGTx’s clinical and commercial programmes.
“MeiraGTx’s Shannon facility is unique, not only in Ireland but globally, as it streamlines gene therapy development, testing and manufacturing capabilities together in-house. This significantly reduces the time to patients for advanced therapeutic products, with months or potentially years saved,” said Alexandria Forbes, president and CEO of MeiraGTx,.
“Along with our other facilities in New York, London and Amsterdam, the Shannon site will scale up and manufacture a broad range of gene therapies for people living with a variety of serious conditions,” she added.
As part of its strategy to build relationships in the Shannon region, MeiraGTx has collaborated with the University of Limerick and the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training on areas such as skills and capability development.
Attending the formal opening of the site today, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, TD, said that “great strides” are being made in the area of gene therapy.
“And I’ve no doubt that these new facilities will allow MeiraGTx to remain at the forefront of that development. Today’s unveiling is testament to the company’s continued commitment to Shannon and the mid-west and speaks to the considerable skills and ability of the Irish workforce.”
More information on the roles available at MeiraGTx can be found on its website.
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