Mark Hilliard

Alexion Pharmaceuticals has announced it is to construct a new €100 million manufacturing facility in Athlone which will create 50 new jobs.

The planned biologics unit will be an expansion of its current operation in the town and will double the overall number of employees.

Julie O'Neill, executive vice president for global operations, said Ireland was a key location for the US-based company.

“We are committed to further developing our manufacturing facilities in the country to support increasing production needs of our highly innovative and life-transforming therapies,” she said.

The Athlone site currently houses a vial fill-finish facility and the company is also building a large-scale bulk biologics manufacturing facility in Dublin.

Between the two it currently employs over 250 people and expects that number to grow to about 500 by the end of 2019.

Grainne McAleese, general manager at Alexion Ireland, said the company is now establishing collaborations with local schools and institutes of technology to source future employees.

Alexion is a global biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for patients with devastating and rare disorders including paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) and atypical haemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS).