GE has announced that it will invest EUR 150 million ($168 million) in a new biopharmaceutical manufacturing campus on Industrial Development Agency Ireland’s site at Loughbeg, Ringaskiddy, County Cork, Ireland. The campus, GE BioPark Cork, is subject to contract and planning approvals and will feature KUBio prefabricated, off-the-shelf biomanufacturing facilities, owned and run by GE customers, and will serve as focal point for further investment in biopharmaceutical manufacturing in Ireland.

GE BioPark Cork is expected to be home to more than 500 new jobs when fully operational; 400 with biopharmaceutical companies and a further 100 employed directly by GE. The construction phase, subject to planning approvals, is expected to begin by mid- 2017 and create up to 800 construction jobs.

To further develop biopharmaceutical manufacturing skills and expertise in Ireland, GE and the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) have also announced their plan to create a NIBRT-GE single-use center of excellence at NIBRT’s Dublin facility. NIBRT expects to train up to 1,500 bioprocessing professionals annually on biologic manufacturing technologies. These technologies for biopharmaceutical manufacturing will be used in GE BioPark Cork’s manufacturing facilities.

GE BioPark Cork will be a GE-managed campus, which will include four fully-equipped KUBio factories owned by independent biopharmaceutical companies manufacturing proprietary medicines, with GE running centralized shared utilities and site services.

Source: GE