Thermo Fisher Scientific, the owner of PPD in Athlone in Co Westmeath, has announced plans to "discontinue operations" at their supply depot which is expected to result in substantial job losses.
It is understood up to 100 jobs could be impacted by the change at the biopharma company, which has been located in the IDA Business and Technology Park in Garrycastle for over a decade.
The US company said the advanced laboratory facility in the town is unaffected, saying it remains committed to its development and growth.
In December of 2021, Thermo Fisher Scientific acquired PPD, a leading global provider of clinical research services to the biopharma and biotech industry, for $17.4 billion (€16.45 billion).
In a statement issued in recent days, Thermo Fisher Scientific said it continuously evaluates its global operations to identify opportunities "to improve efficiency and effectiveness".
"As a result, we have proposed plans that, if confirmed, would discontinue operations at our supply depot in Athlone, Ireland, and are in the early stages of a consultation process with potentially affected colleagues. The proposal affects our depot operations only.
"We remain committed to the development and growth of our highly advanced laboratory in Athlone, which performs cutting-edge work to deliver on customers' important research programs for new medicines for patients," the statement ended.
In May of 2021, several months prior to the sale to Thermo Fisher Scientific, PPD announced a significant expansion in the size of their Athlone lab which would result in the creation of 180 extra jobs over the following three years.
The Athlone operation, which in 2021 covered 4,460 square metres (48,000 sq. feet) was extended to 7,710 square metres (83,000 sq. feet) on foot of the expansion news at its Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) laboratory.
PPD confirmed in 2021 that it had nearly 300 employees at the facility, working to provide analytical services and testing across all phases of pharmaceutical development and commercialisation.
The operation is part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, a world leader in serving science, with an annual revenue of approximately $40 billion (€37 billion) and 100,000 employees worldwide.
Among its industry leading brands are Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Thermo Scientific, Patheon and PPD.
