Up to 40 jobs are being created at a multi-national medical products company that already employs over 630 people in Waterford and is expanding its base in the southeast.

International giant Sanofi has announced it is changing the name of its Irish operation from Genzyme Waterford to Sanofi Waterford next month.

The company said the move would more accurately reflect the site’s alignment within the global organisation and the pipeline of new product introductions planned for Waterford.

Genzyme has been in Waterford since 2001 and invested more than €600 million in infrastructure projects in the site during that time.

Among the products made in Waterford for the Sanofi portfolio are products for people with rare diseases.

Meanwhile, a site expansion going on at the moment will allow the first Sanofi diabetes products and medical devices to be manufactured in Waterford.

It is this growth that is creating additional employment opportunities, up to 40 being filled in the coming weeks and months, with a range of engineering and quality professionals being recruited.

"Since Sanofi acquired Genzyme globally in 2011, the Waterford operation has been increasingly closely-integrated within Sanofi Industrial Affairs so this is the logical next step as we plan for the future and build on the track record of achievement and growth here since 2001," said Ruth Beadle, site head at Sanofi Waterford.

“We are very mindful of the affinity that Waterford has developed for Genzyme over the last 15 years and the support we have had from the external community is something that we value and look forward to seeing continue as Sanofi Waterford.”