Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar TD has announced that U.S. headquartered Repligen Corporation is set to significantly expand its manufacturing operations in Waterford, with plans to fit out a 33,000 square foot LEED Silver building that is expected to create 130 new jobs in the South East region of Ireland over the next two and a half years.
The facility will serve as a Centre of Excellence for single-use consumable products used in bioprocessing applications, and will complement the existing 10,500 square foot Waterford facility (formerly ARTeSYN BioSolutions, which Repligen acquired in Dec 2020) that currently employs 74 people, a figure well above initial hiring expectations set forth in 2019 as Repligen continues to experience rapid growth and increased demand for its state-of-the-art bioprocessing products.
Known for highly innovative single-use bioprocessing technologies that increase efficiencies in the process of manufacturing biological drugs, Repligen plans to invest in building out the new Waterford plant as an innovation, assembly and production centre for a diverse portfolio of plug-and-play consumables, for use with state-of-the-art filtration and chromatography systems. These highly differentiated technologies are utilized by Repligen’s customers – primarily biopharmaceutical developers and contract development and manufacturing organizations worldwide – in the production of investigational and commercial-stage biological therapeutics and vaccines.
Repligen’s capital commitment to the Waterford expansion is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, stated, “this is excellent news from Repligen with the creation of 130 new jobs in Waterford. It comes on foot of a major jobs announcement by Bausch and Lomb. Waterford is on the move as a centre for jobs and investment.”
“Ireland is globally recognised as a centre of excellence for life sciences and this significant expansion is a real vote of confidence in us and our capacity. It shows we are succeeding in attracting high-calibre companies and highly-skilled jobs to all our regions. I wish the team the very best with their expansion plans.”
James Bylund, Senior Vice-President, Global Operations and Information Technology at Repligen, said, “we are thrilled to continue the collaboration with the Irish Government and the IDA that was initiated by the ARTeSYN team. This buildout is an important step in expanding our capacity and establishing dual manufacturing sites for key single-use consumable products used in manufacture of biological drugs.”
“The timing is excellent as we are actively expanding our Waterford site with the addition of 40 employees during the second half of 2021 and expect to open the new building as a Centre of Excellence in 2022. With its LEED Silver designation, the facility is closely aligned with our commitment to responsible growth and sustainability.”
Dr. Jonathan Downey, Managing Director at the Waterford site, commented, “having delivered beyond our commitment in 2019 to bring new jobs to the region through our development of high-end manufacturing capabilities, we are energized and excited about our integration with Repligen and this next phase of growth.”
“In addition to our expansion of ARTeSYN products, and the transfer of manufacturing of certain of Repligen’s current products to our Irish operations, we expect to be utilising the Irish sites to advance additional Research, Development & Innovation programs.”
IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan, said, “this significant investment by Repligen and the creation of more than 130 new jobs is great news. This next phase of growth, coming only two years after ARTeSYN initially expanded its manufacturing and clean room facilities in Waterford, is further evidence that the technological expertise in the region is strong and that the South East is an attractive location in which to invest, work and live.”
“IDA Ireland is fully committed to regional development and ensuring every area benefits from employment gains. We are pleased to partner with innovation-driven companies like Repligen to increase economic growth and employment in the South East region.”
Source: IDA Ireland
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