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The company, which develops and commercialises therapies for patients with life-threatening rare and ultra-rare genetic diseases, has opened a new office on Earlsfort Terrace.
Today (2 October), global biopharmaceutical company BioMarin opened a new Dublin office to support growth across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
The new office, located on Earlsfort Terrace, was officially opened this morning by Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Coveney, TD, who joined members of BioMarin’s global executive team and the company’s president of global manufacturing, Dr Robert Baffi.
Other guests at the opening included BioMarin employees, members of the island’s medical and life science communities, and patient representative groups, including Avril Daly of Rare Diseases Ireland.
Jim Lennertz, senior vice-president of EUMEA commercial operations and one of BioMarin’s global leaders based in Dublin, said: “Ireland is a major location for BioMarin and we’re excited to be growing our business here. BioMarin is investing in our future operations in Ireland to support rising demand for our rare disease therapies.
“We’re benefiting from the exceptional pool of life sciences talent and expertise in Ireland, which means we can recruit the right people at a time when the company has a number of exciting innovations in the pipeline and continues to drive strong growth in the EUMEA region.
“Our new offices in Dublin support our continued expansion and provide our employees with an outstanding workspace in the heart of the city.”
‘Specialised and significant work’
At the opening, Coveney commented: “I welcome today’s opening and BioMarin’s recognition that Ireland is an ideal location for a business with a global reach.
“The presence of a highly skilled labour force supports the growth and development of their specialised and significant work in the area of the treatment of rare diseases.
“BioMarin has grown to a workforce of close to 500 – Irish-based staff now represent almost 20pc of their employees globally, making Ireland its most significant location outside of the US.”
The company, which develops and commercialises therapies for patients with serious and life-threatening rare and ultra-rare genetic diseases, was founded in California in 1997.
It said: “Many of these conditions affect children and some are so uncommon that the entire patient population numbers as few as 1,000 people worldwide. Rare diseases have a very high level of unmet need, with 95pc of rare diseases lacking even a single treatment option.”
Now a global leader in biopharmaceutical therapies, and one of the few specialist rare disease companies located on the island, BioMarin has established a significant presence in Ireland.
In 2018, the company announced a €38m expansion at its manufacturing facility in Cork, which is still in progress. The company previously spent two years expanding and refurbishing the Cork plant.
