MSD Ireland To Build New Biologics Plant in Carlow

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--MSD Ireland (Dublin, Ireland), part of Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) (Rathway, New Jersey), has confirmed plans to begin construction on a state-of-the-art facility for the production of next-generation oncology biologics at its site in County Carlow, Ireland.

The company said the facility will be the "first of its kind" globally for the company. The Carlow site opened in 2008 and was MSD's first vaccines facility outside of the U.S. It employs 530 people, and another 100 jobs in quality, operations, engineering, supply chain and technical support will be added at the new facility. The proposed project will begin manufacturing in 2025.

Marie Martin, site lead at MSD Carlow, said: "We are very excited to see our Carlow site continue to grow and develop. Since we first opened our doors in 2008, our site has become integral to MSD's global manufacturing operations, continuously punching above our weight to drive innovation to make a positive impact for people and patients, from MSD Carlow to the world. The demand for MSD's range of vaccine and biologics products has continued to grow since 2008 and this new facility will play a pivotal role in ensuring we can continue to sustain future supply to meet medical needs."

Ireland's Tánaiste & Minister for Enterprise Trade & Employment, Leo Varadkar, welcomed the investment: "MSD has played an incredibly important role in helping Ireland become a world leader in life sciences and already employs over 2,800 people here. Today's announcement, that the company is creating a further 100 new jobs in its Carlow site, is another fantastic day in MSD's 50-year history here."

MSD operates across six Irish sites in Ballydine, Co Tipperary, Brinny, Co Cork, Dunboyne, Co Meath, Carlow and Dublin, as well as running human health and animal health businesses. To date, it has over US$4 billion in its Irish operations and is one of Ireland's top 20 companies in financial turnover. Industrial Info recently reported on another significant investment win for Ireland's booming pharmaceutical and biotech sector when U.S. pharma major Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) (Abbott, Park, Illinois) committed to investing 440 million euro (US$448 million) to grow its Irish operations. The company will build a new 250,000-square-foot state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at the IDA Business and Technology Park in Loughboy, Kilkenny, to substantially increase production of its FreeStyle Libre technology for people with diabetes. For additional information, see August 30, 2022, article - Abbott Confirms $448 Million Boost for Irish Diabetes Operation.

The medical and pharmaceutical sector, along with organic chemicals, is Ireland's largest exporter of goods. In 2021, government figures show that combined they accounted for 54% of all goods exports, amounting to 89 billion euro (US$88 billion), in what was a record year.

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