By Business & Finance 
Pharmaceutical and healthcare company GSK has announced the opening of a €12m investment project at its Currabinny-based manufacturing site in Cork.
A €9.5m kilo scale facility and a €2.5m technical development laboratory were opened by Roger Connor, GSK’s Global Manufacturing Supply president and Joe Power, GSK’s Cork site director.
The new purpose-built kilo scale facility will allow the site to begin manufacturing highly specialised active ingredients for newer, targeted oncology medicines while the new technical development laboratory will enhance its ability to improve its current product portfolio.
GSK employs 450 employees at the Cork site. The global healthcare company employs over 1,800 staff across four locations in Ireland. – Cork, Dublin, Waterford and Sligo.
Kevin O’Keefe, head of Engineering, GSK Cork, commented: “Our new kilo scale facility represents an important new opportunity for GSK in Cork, the plant will expand our operating scale to allow us introduce new targeted medicines that require highly specialised manufacturing equipment, this investment opens up new potential for Cork to produce these in the future.”
Joe Power, site director, added: “This substantial investment demonstrates GSK’s strong commitment to our Cork site. It’s a wonderful endorsement of the world-class technical capability we have here and will work to attract new business for the operation. It will also be very rewarding for our employees, knowing the difference they will be making to patients all over the world who will ultimately take the medicines that started out here in Cork.”
GSK has now invested over €700m in the Cork site since its inception in 1974 and last year the company invested €30mi in R&D in Ireland.
