Minister Martin announces €130 million investment by Genzyme in Waterford

Expansion will create 170 high skilled positions

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin TD today (1^st April 2008) announced that Genzyme, a leading global biotechnology company, is to invest €130 million at its Irish operation in Waterford. The investment, supported by IDA Ireland, will create 170 high skilled positions and significantly increase the manufacturing capacity at the Waterford facility over the next three years.

Massachusetts-based Genzyme Corporation is one of the world’s foremost biotechnology companies. With many established products and services, Genzyme is a leader in the effort to develop and apply the most advanced technologies in the life sciences sector. The company’s products and services are focused on rare inherited disorders, kidney disease, orthopaedics, cancer, transplant and diagnostic testing. In 2001, Genzyme established a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Waterford

The new €130 million investment is to expand its sterile fill/finish manufacturing operation, introduce soft gel capsule manufacture and significantly expand the laboratory and office accommodation in support of the employment growth. The investment will create highly skilled positions in manufacturing, quality and engineering. The local workforce will increase to over 600 and considerably expand the Waterford site’s capacity to meet the demands of Genzyme’s growing customer base.

Minister Martin said, “This is another significant investment by Genzyme in its Irish operations. It is excellent news for the staff, potential new recruits and for Waterford and the southeast region. Since its arrival to Ireland in 2001, Genzyme has been a tremendous addition to the biopharmaceutical industry in Ireland. It has grown rapidly, meeting all its projections and exceeding its targets. This new investment is a strategically important one for Genzyme Ireland in terms of its position in the overall Genzyme Corporation.

“The life sciences sector is a crucial component of Ireland’s economic landscape. Half of the announcements and investments by overseas companies so far this year have been in this sector and in regional locations throughout the country. We continue to compete for investment at the highest end of the value chain and the companies that IDA Ireland target require a highly qualified and talented workforce, effective physical and digital infrastructure, coupled with the availability of sophisticated professional support services. We are pleased that both new and existing companies, the calibre of Genzyme, can satisfy these requirements in Ireland” the Minister concluded.

Mark Bamforth, Senior Vice President, Corporate Operations and Pharmaceuticals, Genzyme, said the physical expansion of the company’s state-of-the-art Waterford campus will see investment in expanding production capacity along with additional site infrastructure. “This major expansion of our Waterford site is a ringing endorsement of the positive experiences we have had there since the initial announcement almost seven years ago of our plans for Ireland.

“A key factor in that original decision was the supportive environment for business and ‘can do’ attitude we experienced during our site evaluation process. This has certainly been borne out by our experience to date and several of Genzyme’s leading products are now shipped from Waterford to patients around the world.”

Dominic Carolan, Vice President and General Manager, Genzyme Ireland said, “This further expansion of activity at Waterford is due in very large part to the tremendous progress achieved to date by a growing team of talented, flexible and dedicated personnel who have shown great commitment to working together in a fast-changing environment to meet our expanding patient requirements. The expansion will see a very significant increase in the site’s biological fill finish capacity. “This location is of strategic importance within Genzyme and that is borne out by the decision to approve this major investment programme that will allow us build forward capacity to meet current and projected demand.”

Paul Shanahan, Human Resources Director, Genzyme Ireland said the company will immediately begin recruiting for the first of the additional positions to be created by their expansion programme. “Ours is a real people business and the success in Waterford will continue to be built by our team here. We devote a lot of energy and resources to ensuring this is an attractive place to work and this is borne out by our high retention rate.

“We now look forward to creating further opportunities to join our team as we roll out this ambitious expansion programme that will allow us build on what has been achieved to date. As well as our own team in Waterford, securing this additional investment is also a credit to the external community that we work closely with in the southeast region and more widely.”

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Further information about Genzyme Corp is available at www.genzyme.com while information about Genzyme Ireland and employment opportunities at Waterford can be found at www.genzyme.ie

Notes to Editor

Genzyme is dedicated to making a major positive impact on the lives of people with serious diseases. Since being established in 1981, the company has grown from a small start-up to a diversified enterprise with more than 10,000 employees in locations spanning the globe. In 2007, Genzyme was chosen to receive the National Medal of Technology, the highest honour awarded by the President of the United States for technological innovation.

Genzyme’s commitment to innovation continues today with a substantial development programme focused on these fields as well as immune disease, infectious disease and other areas of unmet medical need. The company’s total revenues in 2007 increased to $3.8 billion from $3.2 billion in 2006.

For further information contact: 

Genzyme Ireland – Brian Nolan, Bance Nolan Ltd,Tel: 051-845403/086-8191730 

IDA Ireland – Ruth Croke, Press & PR Manager, Tel: 01-6034000

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment – Jerry O’Connor, Press Office, Tel: 01-6312200