Drugmaker Wyeth opened a €1.8 billion production plant in Dublin today in a move that will make the US company Ireland's biggest employer in the pharmaceutical sector.
The plant, in Clondalkin west Dublin, will employ 1,000 people, bringing Wyeth's workforce in Ireland to 3,000. It will make a number of key products including biotechnology drug Enbrel for the treatment of severe rheumatoid arthritis.
Wyeth, which has been in Ireland for 30 years and operates three other plants in the country, began work on its new 1.2 million square feet facility in 2002.
As well as producing a number of drugs, largely for the European market, Wyeth will have a team of 100 research scientists working on new products, the company said.
Speaking at the official opening of the biopharmaceutical campus, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said the facility "will showcase this country as a leader in terms of the international biopharma industry."
"It is most encouraging to note that Wyeth is not alone in viewing Ireland as a location of choice for its global manufacturing investments. There are, in fact, an impressive number of cutting-edge manufacturing investments being undertaken by leading international companies in this country at the moment.
"These investments, plus the many other new significant and niche manufacturing investments underway, demonstrate that the manufacturing sector remains a major pillar of the Irish economy."
Along with Enbrel, the plant will also produce Prevenar, a pneumococcal vaccine for children, and its newly approved antibiotic, Tygacil.
Ireland has become a key location for multinational pharmaceutical firms, offering low corporate tax rates and a highly educated workforce.
More than 17,000 people are employed in the biotech industry in Ireland, with global players such as Merck, Schering-Plough and GlaxoSmithKline having bases in the country.
Pfizer produces its European supply of impotence drug Viagra at a plant in Co Cork.