Gilead expands operations in Cork, Ireland

Gilead has unveiled the expansion of its Cork manufacturing site, involved in the creation of its treatments for HIV and hepatitis.

The €9.5 million quality control lab facility has been opened to accommodate the biotech’s growing presence in Ireland, after it invested close to €200 million to build a manufacturing infrastructure that now employs more than 500 people. It’s a rapid scale-up, considering Gilead established a presence in Ireland less than two decades ago.

"We are delighted to launch this significant expansion, which will have a positive impact on the production of vital medicines for hundreds of thousands of patients around the world," said David Cadogan, Vice President of Manufacturing Operations at Gilead. "During the last five years, manufacturing of 11 Gilead products has been transferred to the Carrigtwohill plant, resulting in a significant increase in quality control testing requirements."

The site will be used as part of the production process to manufacture medicine for distribution across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The overall facility already produces a quarter of Gilead’s drugs that are delivered via tablets and, as mentioned by Cadogan, 11 products in total are now manufactured at this location. There are currently 390 individuals working at the Carrigtwohill facility.

Gilead is currently in the process of expanding its manufacturing presence across the world, with news only just breaking last week that it had sought out new facilities in Europe and the US.

This move related to the biotech’s pivot towards gene therapy, particularly after its acquisition of Kite.

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