Category: News from InterSearch Ireland

US life sciences business acquires Dublin-headquartered biotech company ValitaCell.

Prior to the transaction, laboratory automation and technology company Beckman Coulter Life Sciences had a long-standing partnership with ValitaCell. Beckman Coulter Life Sciences is now purchasing the Irish start-up to expand its offering.

With the goal of cutting the price and time to market for innovative treatments, ValitaCell develops analytical technology and products for the biopharmaceutical industry.

It has a second facility in Galway and its main office is at the National Institute of Bioprocessing Research and Training in Dublin.

The company has won numerous awards, including Irish Pharma Start-up of the Year in 2017 and first place at InterTrade Ireland’s Seedcorn Awards in 2016. Its technologies are patented in a number of international markets.

The EU’s Horizon 2020 program helped the start-up, which was established in 2014, by providing €2 million in funding in 2017.

Up to 300 jobs could be created in Shannon by a new biotech facility.

Today (16 September), Shannon’s gene therapy production plant for the biotech business MeiraGTx officially opened.

The 150,000 square foot facility develops curative medications for ailments like Parkinson’s Disease, as well as genetic illnesses like eyesight loss or issues of the salivary glands, with the possibility to produce drugs for diabetes or some cancer types.

With intentions to eventually create 300 jobs, the facility has the ability to produce 100 jobs in its current stage. There are currently 75 employees working there. MeiraGTx is hiring for positions in engineering, quality assurance, manufacturing, and supply.

The facility will produce viral vectors, which introduce genetic material into cells, as well as plasmid DNA, an essential precursor in the development of viral vector technology.

The building will also house a quality control centre for cutting-edge biomedical quality testing.

MeiraGTx also has locations in New York, London, and Amsterdam.

A significant expansion at MSD in Carlow will add 100 new jobs.

The US company Merck, which includes the multinational pharmaceutical company MSD, intends to develop a manufacturing plant in Co. Carlow that will lead to the creation of more than 100 long-term jobs to enhance its production capacity to satisfy rising global demand for its medications and vaccines.

Additionally, 700 positions will be created while the new building is being built at the company’s current Carlow location.

With the intention of launching new manufacturing activities in 2025, MSD stated that development of the new facility and hiring for open positions will begin immediately.

The Carlow location was MSD’s first vaccination facility outside of the US, and was opened in 2008. Over 2,800 people are employed by MSD in six locations in Ireland, including bases in Tipperary, Carlow, Cork, Meath, and Dublin. At the moment, it employs close to 530 people in Carlow.

Around half of MSD’s top 20 products are produced by its Irish operations, which the company claims have received more than $4 billion in investments to date.

Tirlán is the new name for Glanbia Ireland and Glanbia Co-op.

Glanbia Co-op and Glanbia Ireland officially changed their names this week, and within the next six months, Tirlán-branded items will start to appear on grocery shelves in Ireland.

The new name, which means “land of abundance,” is a combination of the Irish words for land (tír) and full (lán), the firm said. It symbolises the deep connection and interaction between the co-op, its people, and the land.

Avonmore, Kilmeaden, Premier, and Wexford are just a few of the Irish brands produced by the 100 percent farmer-owned Tirlán. Gain Animal Nutrition, Truly Grass Fed, Millac, and Solmiko are some of its international names. The largest milk processor in Ireland, Tirlán, will obtain its dairy and grains through a network of more than 6,000 farm families.

During a webinar held in the co-op’s collaboration center in Kilkenny’s Abbey Quarter, the new name was revealed to employees and farmer shareholders.

The branding comes after Glanbia plc announced in November of last year that it intended to sell the co-op its remaining 40% stake in Glanbia Ireland for €307 million. The transaction was finished in April of this year.

The name Glanbia will still be used, and Glanbia plc will continue to operate as a separate organisation. With a 31.9% ownership, Tirlán remains Glanbia’s largest shareholder.

Xerotech is rapidly growing following the announcement of 50 new positions at the Claregalway site.

Xerotech, which was founded in 2015 is a top supplier of innovative battery systems for use across construction, agriculture and mining machinery, and has a sizable production footprint at Claregalway Corporate Park.

By the end of the year, it intends to fill 50 new roles and plans to dramatically increase capacity by the construction of new buildings, additions, and renovations, the company anticipates reaching a footprint of more than 80,000 square feet by the middle of 2023.

Since 2020, the business has dramatically increased the number of employees, and it now has a diversified workforce which includes more than 40% international employees.

The company has noticed an increase in demand for its products, particularly in the non-road mobile machinery market where it has established itself as a leader in the provision of adjustable battery systems and has established relationships with numerous international OEMs.

According to Dr Barry Flannery, founder and CEO of Xerotech, while the previous decade was mostly focused on electrifying vehicles, the current decade will be primarily focused on electrifying everything else, including 400-ton mine dumpers, road sweepers, and boats.

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