The biotech company will hire across activities such as regulatory affairs, clinical operations, clinical data management and support functions.
Canadian biotech company Zymeworks will establish a new clinical and regulatory European headquarters in Dublin.
Zymeworks develops therapeutics to address difficult-to-treat cancers and other serious diseases.
The new HQ will enable the company to coordinate clinical trials in the EU and progress early-stage clinical programs through its drug development process.
In setting up the new facility, Zymeworks will hire up to 20 new roles across activities such as regulatory affairs, clinical operations, clinical data management and support functions.
Kenneth Galbraith, chair and CEO of Zymeworks, said the company is at “an exciting stage of global expansion” with a portfolio of antibody-drug conjugates and multi-specific antibody therapeutics in clinical trials and preclinical development.
“We are excited to announce our establishment in Dublin, which will provide us with the opportunity to engage with European cancer researchers and investigators, and recruit a larger proportion of patients in clinical studies planned in the European Union during the global drug development process,” he said.
Welcoming the announcement, IDA Ireland’s CEO, Michael Lohan, said Ireland’s life sciences sector has a global reputation for operational and innovational excellence.
“Zymeworks joins a growing cluster of biopharmaceutical companies establishing corporate and technical management operations in Ireland,” he said. “We welcome the company’s plans to create high-value career opportunities and we look forward to continuing to work closely with Zymeworks.”
Zymeworks is the first Canadian biopharmaceutical company to establish an international headquarters in Ireland. However, the country is home to many other international biotech and life sciences companies, such as Pfizer, Amgen, MSD and Abbott.
Speaking about the Zymeworks announcement, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris, TD, said Ireland has an established ecosystem for pharmaceutical and biopharma activity as well as a strong workforce and easy access to the EU market.
“This announcement is another vote of confidence in Ireland, in our life sciences sector and in the talent of the Irish people.”
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