100 jobs are promised for Cashel, Co Tipperary with the establishment of US pharmaceutical company, Alza Corporation, in the town. Alza and IDA Ireland are initially investing $50 million in the new operation, the company's first manufacturing operation outside of the US.
Alza, one of the world's leading drug delivery systems' companies, will bring a range of quality engineering and production jobs to the Co Tipperary town. The jobs will be phased in over the next three years.
The company will initially locate on a 22 acre site, in a ready-built 20,000 square feet IDA advance building at Cashel Business Park. It is anticipated that the plant will be extended by a further 40,000 square feet to service the strong growth in markets outside the US.
The California-based company joins over 120 foreign pharmaceutical and chemical companies which regard Ireland as a highly cost-effective base of development. The sector, with the support of the IDA, employs 17,000 people and has exports of over £16 million. This represents over 25% of total exports and makes Ireland one of the largest exporters of pharmaceuticals in the world.
Alza has recorded impressive growth over the last five years with total revenues of $988 million in 2000 and employs about 2,5000 people worldwide. Their technologies include oral delivery systems, transdermal systems and human implantable systems, all of which control the dosage, timing and release of medication. These systems are reputed to have less adverse side effects than other forms of drug delivery such as tablets and injections.
Recruitment for employees for the Cashel plant is expected to begin immediately.
