GE HealthCare will invest €132 million to expand its manufacturing site in Carrigtwohill, Co Cork.
The site produces contrast media – injectable diagnostic imaging agents used to make it easier for doctors to examine organs, blood vessels and tissues during medical imaging.
The investment, announced on Friday, in the new fill-and-finish facility will help address growing demand for such products worldwide, expanding capacity at the Cork site by 25 million doses a year.
The company says that global demand for iodine-based contrast media, used in x ray, CT and interventional procedures is expected to double in the next decade.
In 2024, the Cork facility, along with GE Healthcare’s other fill and finish production sites in China and Norway supplied over 100 million patient doses of contrast media around the world.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who is turning the sod to formally initiate construction works on the site today, noted that GE HealthCare has been manufacturing in Ireland for more than 30 years, and had invested extensively in the site in Cork.
“I am delighted to welcome this significant new investment here in Cork, which is testament to the commitment of GE HealthCare in Ireland, and also to our highly skilled workforce,” he said.
GE Healthcare Ireland managing director Eugene Barrett, who is also the site lead, said the first doses from the new facility were expected to be available by the end of 2027.
Kevin O’Neill, who is president and chief executive of GE Healthcare’s pharmaceutical diagnostics business said that, as an industry leader, it has a responsibility to help meet the growing global demand for contrast media.
“This new facility demonstrates our broader commitment not just to address future demand, but also to increase resilience and security of industry supply for customers,” he said.
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