Pharma centre firm in liquidation

One of the chief backers of the proposed Global Pharmaceutical Centre of Excellence (GPCE) planned for Tralee has been placed into liquidation.

Cork-based liquidator Sean O’Riordan was last month appointed to Pharmadel, which sold generic drugs, with the company owing nearly €1m to creditors.

The man behind Pharmadel and GPCE, Pat Barry, refused to comment on the status of either company. He said he would make a statement on the future of both on Thursday.

The demise of Pharmadel casts serious doubt on the viability of the GPCE project, which had hoped to be an outsourcing centre for the research and development of new pharmaceutical treatments.

GPCE received support from the IDA and Enterprise Ireland, among others. Both of the state development agencies for domestic companies and exporters said they had not provided the GPCE proposal with financial assistance.

The plan was to raise money from three sovereign wealth funds, in particular the Saudi Arabian government, to fund the construction of a €4.7bn project that would provide employment for 4,500 people.

The plan was to construct a 1.2m sq ft facility on lands beside the Kerry Technology Park in Tralee. It was hoped the site would open in Feb 2013.

The GPCE board was stacked with influential people including IBRC chairman Alan Dukes, NTMA board chairman David Byrne, and the University of Limerick founder Ed Walshe.