Elan to create 120 jobs in Athlone

THE pharmaceutical company Elan has marked its turnaround from near-oblivion by announcing the creation of 120 jobs at its headquarters in Athlone.

The company said it plans to invest €35 million in a new biopharmaceutical facility at its base in Athlone, where the jobs will be created over the next five years.

The Athlone plant had been the centre of its main operations since the company was formed and it currently employs just under 450 people. It suffered heavy job losses when Elan fell into a financial crisis in 2002 when several hundred jobs were lost at Athlone.

Paul Breen, a vice-president at the company, said yesterday’s announcement of new jobs was good news for the region and the new facility would be up and running by 2005.

The plant will initially manufacture Elan’s drug treatments and eventually those of other pharmaceutical companies.

Mr Breen said that Elan would be looking to recruit mainly science and engineering graduates.

“There will be a variety of different types of individuals we will be looking for; there will be engineers, scientists as well as process operators and lab technicians. We are the manufacturing and supply side of Elan and our job is to ensure the appropriate quality and quantity of prescriptive medicines are available to doctors.”

He said the company had seen several tough years since an accounting scandal wiped away much of Elan’s value and led to a massive restructuring, but said it had come through and was now looking to grow.

“We restructured Athlone as part of the recovery plan to refocus our business on the biotech pipeline. This investment is underpinning the manufacturing and supply of that. They are brand new jobs that we are creating. We have facilities in the US but we believe Ireland is still the place to invest and this is part of our commitment to Athlone.”

He added that Elan saw Athlone as its key base and further investment could be on its way there.

“We have recently done a deal with Lilly Pharmaceuticals to manufacture one of the their new blockbuster drugs. That contract will go to Athlone and will create an additional 30 new jobs down there as well. So see this as part of overall plan to expand,” he said.

The investment by Elan, which is backed by the IDA, will be seen as a further sign that the economy is gaining momentum and more new employment projects are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Tánaiste Mary Harney said yesterday that she expected job creation to be ahead this year.

“I hope this is just a taster of more good news to come. Other important investments involving major overseas corporations are in the pipeline and I expect to be in a position to make announcements in regard to these matters over the coming weeks.”