Good news to end the week on the New jobs front.

Todays announcement from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company for Significant investment builds on 50 years of company’s manufacturing history in Ireland.

350 to 400 manufacturing jobs and about 1,000 construction jobs expected to be created

(NEW YORK – November 14, 2014) – Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) today announced plans to construct a new state-of-the-art, large-scale biologics manufacturing facility in Cruiserath, County Dublin, Ireland, that will produce multiple therapies for the company’s growing biologics portfolio. Once completed, the new facility will significantly increase Bristol-Myers Squibb’s biologics manufacturing capacity and play a central role in its global manufacturing network.

Bristol-Myers Squibb has a robust and growing portfolio of approved and investigational biologic medicines across multiple therapeutic areas including oncology, virology and immunoscience. Biologic medicines are an increasingly important tool in the treatment of serious diseases and comprise more than half of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s research and development pipeline.

“Our investment in this new facility reflects the strength of our business and the increasingly important role that biologic medicines will play in Bristol-Myers Squibb’s future,” said Lamberto Andreotti, chief executive officer, Bristol-Myers Squibb. “For 50 years, Bristol-Myers Squibb has maintained a significant manufacturing presence in Ireland, and we look forward to building on that legacy through this significant expansion of our manufacturing capability.”

The 30,000-square meter project will house six 15,000-liter bioreactors and a purification area as well as office and laboratory space. The plant will be built on the grounds of the company’s existing bulk pharmaceutical manufacturing plant.

Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Board of Directors has approved initial funding that will support the first phase of the project. The full cost of the facility, expected to be finalized in the second half of 2015, is anticipated to be comparable to the approximately US $900 million investment to construct and operationalize the company’s biologics manufacturing facility in Devens, Massachusetts.

Approximately 350 to 400 scientists, engineers, bioprocess operators, quality specialists and other skilled professionals are expected to work at the facility when construction is completed, and the construction program is expected to create about 1,000 jobs. The completion of the facility, including commissioning and validation, is anticipated to take approximately four years and is estimated to be operational in 2019.

The company worked with Ireland’s Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation www.enterprise-ireland.com through IDA Ireland as part of the planned expansion.

About Bristol-Myers Squibb

Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases.

Joe Robbins

(Director) BBS (Hons), MBPICS – Shannon Office

Joe Robbins is co-founder of CareerWise Recruitment. A graduate of the University of Limerick (Degree in Business Studies, 1985), Joe worked in the UK for five years where he specialised in materials management, production management and plant management for a number of companies.

He returned to Ireland in 1992 to become Operations Manager for a Cork-based start-up, FMC Automotive Division which was subsequently taken over by Snap-on Equipment. Joe managed the business re-location of this company to Shannon in 1997 before setting up CareerWise Recruitment in 1999.

He is a committee member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Mid-West region, and a former Director and Vice President of the Shannon Chamber of Commerce. Joe is former Chairperson of the Sixmilebridge Camogie Club and current Chairperson of the Clare County Camogie Board.

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