By Business & Finance 
Minister for Research and Innovation, Seán Sherlock TD today visited the Eli Lilly and Company facility in Kinsale, Co. Cork, where a major recruitment campaign for its new biopharmaceutical facility will begin this week.
Over 100 highly qualified personnel across a range of disciplines will be recruited to add to the existing staffing of the new facility,with the bulk to be recruited this year.
Eli Lilly and Company, had previously announced the investment of €330m in a brand-new facility at its Kinsale campus in Cork in 2012. The investment will expand the Kinsale site’s existing biopharmaceutical mission with the establishment of an additional world-class commercialisation and manufacturing facility.
The new facility, when fully operational in 2016, will require a range of skills including operators, process engineers, scientists, laboratory analysts, quality assurance and regulatory professionals. The recruitment campaign will begin this week across a range of media and will run through April.
Speaking at the facility, Minister Sherlock said: “This is fantastic news not just for Cork but for the pharmaceutical sector a whole. These positions are spread over a number of different technical areas and it is an exciting time for Eli Lilly. The Government is committed to supporting all industry and today’s announcement is a vote of confidence in Cork and in Ireland.
“Furthermore, it is great news that these positions are being recruited for immediately. I encourage everyone involved in this sector to look at the opportunities available to them from this recruitment campaign.”
Chris Langan, general manager of the Kinsale site, said: “I am delighted that Minister Sherlock could visit Lilly Kinsale today and, in particular, at this historic/exciting moment for Lilly’s presence in Ireland. The significant expansion endorses the site’s success in developing a world class biopharmaceutical business offering highly skilled employment while developing life-saving treatments for patients around the world.”
Langan cited the success of the site being in no small part due to ‘the site’s excellent performance record and the talent of its workforce. “In the past five years, we have hired and trained some highly talented people and now have a technical talent base and capability in biopharmaceutical commercialisation and manufacturing that makes us a very attractive company for highly skilled people.”
