Elan to invest €35m in Athlone facility

Elan is set to invest €35m at its facility in Athlone in a move which will create 120 jobs in the next five years.

The new sterile biopharmaceuticals plant will create 120 jobs in supervisory, quality control, engineering, laboratory and operative areas.

This €35m investment is supported by IDA Ireland. The investment is the result of Elan’s concentration in its new corporate strategy to refocus the company towards biopharmaceuticals.

Making the announcement, Tánaiste Mary Harney said: "We have secured a major biopharmaceuticals manufacturing presence in a regional location and I congratulate the Irish management team for their success in ensuring that this investment will take place in Athlone.”

“I hope this is just a taster of more good news to come. Other important investments invovling 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,” the Tánaiste added.

Paul Breen, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Services & Operations, Elan, said "Together with a further $178m investment by Elan in the past few years, this site is now a key part of Elan’s overall business strategy. Elan has a long and proud history in Athlone and with this investment we look forward to continuing our presence here.”

The Athlone facility, which is part of its Global Services and Operations (GS&O) group, currently employs 438 people, and is involved in product development, optimisation and manufacture of pharmaceutical products for Elan and third parties.

Elan’s late stage pipeline includes Antegren™, which is currently under investigation for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Antegren is in late stage clinical trials for MS and Crohn’s disease, and has been submitted to the European Medicines Agency and to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval in the treatment of MS. The filing for Crohn's in Europe is expected by the end of 2004. Elan also expects to file its investigational treatment Prialt™ for severe pain in the US this year; it was filed in Europe last year.