Medical devices maker AbbVie, formerly known as Abbott Laboratories, is to create 50 new jobs at its manufacturing operation in Sligo as part of a €40m investment.
This is in addition to 75 jobs created at the site since AbbVie was launched in 2013.
The company’s manufacturing site in Ballytivnan currently produces drug delivery devices, including a pen-style injector that is used by patients worldwide receiving an AbbVie treatment indicated for a range of auto-immune conditions.
“AbbVie is a world-leading medical devices company, and the news that it is investing a further €40m in its Sligo facility and creating 50 extra jobs is a great boost for the north-west,” said Jobs Minister Richard Bruton TD.
AbbVie is focused on delivering its small molecule and biologics pipeline to address significant unmet medical needs and advance the wellbeing of patients across the therapeutic areas of immunology, liver disease, oncology, neuroscience and kidney disease.
The company’s unique offerings stem from its 125-year pharmaceutical development heritage combined with the innovative focus of a biotech.
In October 2011, Abbott Laboratories announced its plan to separate into two publicly-traded companies. The new Abbott Laboratories would specialise in diversified products including medical devices, diagnostic equipment and nutrition products, while AbbVie Inc. would operate as a research-based biopharmaceutical manufacture.
A credit to the AbbVie team in Ireland’s expertise
“This investment reinforces our commitment to serving patients around the world, and it is a credit to the expertise of our team in Ireland,” said Azita Saleki-Gerhardt, AbbVie’s senior vice president of Operations.
The site employs a highly-skilled workforce specialising in the disciplines of science and engineering, with 80 percent having a third-level education qualification ranging from degree to Ph.D. level.
Together with this new development, an investment of more than €3.6bn has been announced for the biopharma industry in Ireland since 2012, said IDA Ireland chief executive Martin Shanahan.
“The scale of investment is significant and bolsters the life science cluster in the north-west region. The AbbVie site at Ballytivnan has contributed significantly to and leveraged the world class technical expertise that exists in the north-west region over many years.
“Collaborating with local technical service providers has been a win-win that has enabled AbbVie to deliver on their mandate and has in turn supported and developed service providers to the medical technologies sector,” Shanahan said.
Benbulben, Sligo image via Shutterstock
