Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar TD and IDA Ireland have welcomed the announcement by global pharmaceutical and biotechnology company AstraZeneca that it is to invest $360m (€300m) in a new manufacturing facility in Ireland, creating 100 jobs.

The new facility will be located at the 41 acre Alexion Campus in College Park, Dublin. It will serve as the next-generation active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) commercialisation and manufacturing facility for small molecules, positioning AstraZeneca’s global supply network for future growth.

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, Leo Varakdar TD said: “This is fantastic news. Ireland is a world hub for life sciences. We’ve worked hard to create a welcoming environment for companies seeking to invest here and we are so happy that AstraZeneca has chosen Dublin to locate its new manufacturing facility with 100 new jobs in the IDA College Park campus in Blanchardstown as a result.”

IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan said: “It’s great to see AstraZeneca establish its first manufacturing facility in Ireland. It will be a considerable addition to the well established life sciences ecosystem here.  Competition for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is more intense than ever and all investment is hard won. This investment, creating 100 highly skilled jobs, including scientists and engineers, is most welcome and will be of substantial benefit to the local economy. I wish the company every success with its plans here.”

Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, AstraZeneca, said: “This is a tremendously proud moment for us all at AstraZeneca and I am delighted that we are bringing this very significant investment to Dublin which, with the support of the IDA, will create highly skilled jobs, nurture the country’s dynamic life sciences sector and allow for the development of high value-added medicines.”

Pam Cheng, Executive Vice President, Global Operations and IT, said: “The future manufacturing of APIs for our medicines includes compounds with highly complex synthesis, requiring next generation technologies and capabilities that can respond quickly and nimbly to rapidly-changing clinical and commercial needs. This significant investment will ensure the AstraZeneca supply network is fit for the future.”

The investment programme is expected to significantly reduce commercialisation lead times, costs, and introduce more sustainable manufacturing processes, contributing to the AstraZeneca’s Ambition Zero Carbon programme. The industry-leading, future proof design of the plant will permit the addition of capability to manufacture a wide range of medicines.