Job figure for Cork pharmaceutical facility raised to 250

A TOTAL of 250 jobs are to be created through the establishment of a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Carrigtwohill, Co Cork.

Last month San Diego-based Sangart announced plans to hire 120 people at the facility in east Cork. However, the US company revised its figures and plans to double the workforce at the plant.

The facility will serve as Sangart’s European headquarters, and the sales and manufacturing base in Europe for its MP4OX and MP4CO therapies.

Brian O’Callaghan, the Cork-born, US-based chief executive of Sangart, expects to break ground on the site by the end of the year. It is hoped the plant will be fully functional by 2013.

“The need for oxygen therapeutic agents such as MP4OX and MP4CO is a global one, and our manufacturing investment in Ireland is an important element of preparing for the potential future marketing of our therapies,” said Mr O’Callaghan. “Expanding our global presence is a critical part of our commitment to getting Sangart’s therapies in the hands of physicians to benefit patients as quickly as possible.”

Donald Brown, Sangart’s chief operations officer, cited Ireland’s business-friendly environment and talent pool as key factors in the firm’s decision to locate here.

Sangart was established in San Diego in 1998 and specialises in medical tools to help deliver oxygen to human tissue. This reduces the need for blood donors and the risk in some cases of cross-contamination due to blood transfusions. The biopharmaceutical company is developing medicines designed to enhance the perfusion and oxygenation of oxygen-deprived tissues.