PROFILE: The five multinationals who plan to invest more than €53m in R&D projects in the Republic.
Bristol Myers Squibb
US-based Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) will spend €9.645 million on collaborative biopharmaceutical research programmes with Dublin City University and National University of Ireland Galway.
Biopharmaceuticals (also called biotechnology) involves producing drugs from biological rather than chemical ingredients. BMS hopes to develop new production technologies and processes that will save it $50-$80 million (€41-€66 million) a year.
The research will be of interest to the biopharma sector as a whole and the two universities will be able to exploit any intellectual property rights they gain during the research.
The programmes will involve 25 academic researchers and seven BMS professionals.
BMS has two plants in the State producing key ingredients for drugs that treat cancer, heart disease, HIV, diabetes and others.
Citigroup
Citigroup, the world's biggest financial services company, will spend €10 million on a research and development base at its offices in Dublin's International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
The group will employ eight researchers with expertise in areas such as law, taxation and financial regulation. The bank intends to develop new products for use in administering investment funds across several jurisdictions and for use in its transactions business, which manages cross-border payments.
The researchers will initially focus on the fund administration element of the project. The products will be aimed at Citigroup's Europe, Middle East and Africa business. It employs more than 1,100 in its IFSC offices.
Genzyme
US biotechnology player Genzyme will boost its R&D facilities at its plant in Waterford, where it has a dedicated 465 sq m unit.
The Irish unit works on developing the tablet manufacturing process for Renagel, which is used in the treatment of kidney disease patients who are receiving dialysis.
Genzyme plans to expand the facilities so they can be used to support clinical trial work on capsule and liquid forms of the drug that it hopes to bring to the market. It will also mean that the Waterford plant will be involved in the development of new Genzyme products.
Its existing Irish R&D group stands at 10 and the company intends employing a further 12 staff this year. Genzyme has annual revenues of $2 billion.
Pfizer
Global pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer will be the biggest spender on the list of five firms intending to locate R&D projects here. It is to invest €20 million in a process development facility at its plant in Ringaskiddy, Cork. This will be used to develop production processes for new drugs, which is a key part of getting from researchers' laboratories to pharmacists' shelves.
The Ringaskiddy unit has a reputation within the group for developing production processes. Along with Bristol Myers Squibb in Swords, Co Dublin, it was one of the first multinational pharmaceutical manufacturing plants to open in the Republic in the 1960s.
Pfizer has six manufacturing facilities in Ireland and employs 2,200 people. It produces a range of drugs here but gained brief notoriety when it emerged that Ringaskiddy produced the main ingredient for Viagra.
Xilinx
Xilinx is the only high-tech player on the list but, significantly, it is moving R&D from California's Silicon Valley to Dublin. This will be the first time it has moved these activities outside the US, a move that it says is an endorsement of its Irish operations.
Xilinx Research Labs (its R&D arm) will invest €7.5 million in an Irish centre. The firm makes programmable microchips for computers, networks and electronic equipment.
The Irish lab will work on developing programmable chips for use in networks. It also plans to collaborate with other academic and commercial research facilities in the State.
Xilinx employs 450 people in Dublin. To date, it has invested €125 million in the plant.
