Servier makes ‘Groundbreaking’ €115 million investment to establish new facility in Belview, Kilkenny

155 new jobs to be created

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin TD today (Friday 27^th October 2006) announced that Servier, of Paris, France is to invest €115 million, with the support of IDA Ireland, to establish a new high-value manufacturing pharmaceutical facility at Belview, Co. Kilkenny.

Servier is a research based company that concentrates on the development of cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes and central nervous system drugs. Established in Arklow in 1985, Servier employs 206 people in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals for supply to international markets. Two of its existing drugs manufactured in Arklow, the diabetes drug Diamacron and the hypertension drug Coversyl, rank in the top five in Europe in their class.

This will be the first company for the IDA Belview Site which is located on the border of Kilkenny and Waterford. Servier is to invest €115 million in establishing a bulk active pharmaceutical ingredients facility at Belview. It will manufacture half the active ingredients for four products used in the treatment of osteoporosis, depression, angina and hypertension, and will supply both the Arklow facility and the parent company with its products. It will also act as a strategic back-up facility to the main plant in France and a new product launch site where Servier plans to manufacture 50% of all new products emerging from R&D. 155 new jobs will be created in this facility over the next seven years.

Minister Martin said “This is the first investment for Belview and we are delighted that it is coming from such a highly respected company within the pharmaceutical industry. Servier is a global company with an excellent reputation for its commitment to research and development, reinvesting 25% of its annual turnover in R&D. Belview is a key strategic site developed by IDA Ireland to attract a cluster of cutting-edge multinational pharmaceutical companies to the South East and today’s news is a very promising beginning. Servier prides itself on the design and quality of its buildings around the world, as is evidenced by the Arklow plant, and with a company the calibre of Servier as Belview’s flagship occupant, further high-value investment will undoubtedly follow.”

Servier said “This investment is a major part of Servier’s strategy for the future growth of its worldwide business. Our decision to choose Ireland was made following careful appraisal of all our options for this investment. We are very pleased with the standard and performance of our facility here and the encouragement shown to us by the Irish Government and its unwavering support of innovation. We know that we can find the necessary life sciences capabilities and skills we need in Ireland. The new pharmaceutical facility will be pivotal in Servier’s future global operations and will be further integrated with the company’s global activities as a result.”

ENDS

ETE 1656A