Global biopharmaceutical company Sangart is to hire 250 people – more than twice the amount originally planned — at its facility in east Cork which will serve as its European headquarters.
Sangart develops biopharmaceutical products to treat trauma patients and sickle cell anaemia.
The San-Diego based company announced plans in July to hire 120 people at the Carrigtwohill facility, which will also be the sales and manufacturing base in Europe for its MP40X and MP4CO therapies.
MP4OX, the company’s lead product, is a novel oxygen therapeutic agent designed to provide rapid oxygen delivery to ischemic tissues. MP4CO is designed to deliver therapeutic levels of carbon monoxide to patients suffering from a sickle cell crisis.
It was reported today that Cork-born Brian O’Callaghan, US-based chief executive of Sangart, expects to break ground on the site by the end of the year and hopes the plant will be fully functional by 2013.
“The need for oxygen therapeutic agents such as MP4OX and MP4CO is a global one, and our manufacturing investment in Ireland is an important element of preparing for the potential future marketing of our therapies,” he said in July.. “Expanding our global presence is a critical part of our commitment to getting Sangart’s therapies in the hands of physicians to benefit patients as quickly as possible.”
