BioMarin, a San Rafael, California-based biopharmaceutical company, is said to be investing $43 million in a new drug-product filling project at its Shanbally, County Cork, Ireland facility. 

The introduction of fill/finish capacity at the site provides for fully integrated manufacturing from bulk to drug product to add to the site’s drug-substance manufacturing and secondary packaging and labelling capability. The drug-product filling project investment is projected to create an additional 51 roles across all disciplines.

“The introduction of fill finish capacity at Shanbally provides for fully integrated manufacturing from bulk to drug product onsite,” said BioMarin’s Executive Vice-President, Robert Baffi in a company statement. “During our seven years of operations at Shanbally, we have seen tremendous growth at the site. This expansion assures that an increasing amount of our commercial products will be manufactured at the site.”

BioMarin focuses on developing therapeutics for treating patients with rare genetic diseases. The company currently has seven approved products. Since opening its facilities in Shanbally in 2011, the company has grown to just over 350 employees in County Cork, with an additional 55 people based in Dublin and more than 2,600 employees globally. Just over one year ago, BioMarin completed an expanded warehouse, new administration and utilities offices, a canteen, and conference facilities. In 2018, the company completed a waste water pre-treatment plant and a new bio-assay laboratory is currently being commissioned.