Biotech company Horizon Therapeutics is to establish a manufacturing facility in Waterford which will employ about 90 people.
Horizon Therapeutics has agreed a deal to buy the existing drug product manufacturing facility currently operated by EirGen Pharma in IDA Ireland's business park in Waterford.
Some 40 of EirGen's employees will transfer to Horizon as part of the deal and Horizon also intends to recruit 50 additional staff for the site this year and next.
The new global biotech manufacturing operation will produce products for Horizon's rare, autoimmune and severe inflammatory disease portfolio.
The project is supported by IDA Ireland.
Horizon Therapeutics has had its global headquarters in Dublin since 2014, but the Waterford site is the company's first move directly into manufacturing.
As well as its role as global headquarters, Horizon's Irish operations include several key functions such as technical operations, finance, legal and R&D.
The company is due to move shortly to a new location on St Stephen's Green in Dublin.
Horizon's chairman, president and chief executive Tim Walbert said the Waterford plant will add to the company's network of contract manufacturing organisations and will play an important role in its global expansion.
"We look forward to leveraging our existing technical operations expertise in Ireland, along with the expertise of the EirGen employees, to build a robust and effective manufacturing operation that will enable us to meet the unmet needs of people impacted by rare diseases around the world," he added.
IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan said that Horizon is one of the next generation of high growth biotech companies and this substantial investment is another positive development in Ireland's growing biopharma industry.
"In addition to the jobs and economic benefits of this project to Waterford, the South East and Ireland, Horizon will add to the growing pharmaceutical cluster in the South East, which to date includes EirGen, MSD, Teva and Sanofi," Martin Shanahan added.
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, Leo Varadkar said it was great to see a company with an established presence expanding its Irish operations in a regional location.
"It demonstrates Horizon's commitment to Ireland and will allow the company to avail of the rich talent pool in this sector in the region," he added.
