A side view of the new Jazz Pharmaceuticals manufacturing and development plant.

Breaking: 50 new jobs announced at opening of Monksland facility

Jazz Pharmaceuticals announced the creation of 50 new jobs to be delivered over the next three years.

The announcement was made at the official opening of its new manufacturing and development facility on a 17 acre site in Monksland, near Athlone, today, Tuesday.

This is the first directly owned, managed and operated manufacturing facility built by Jazz and the company has invested approximately €50 million in its development, which commenced in February 2014.

The global pharmaceutical company has its headquarters in Dublin,where it employees approximately 100 people, and has operations in multiple cities in the US, in Oxford, England and in Villa Guardia, Italy.

The opening was attended by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor and the Global Head of Life Sciences of IDA Ireland, Mr Barry Heavey, as well as chief executive of Jazz, Bruce Cozadd, and local Independent TD and Minister for Communications, Climate Change and Environment, Mr Denis Naughton TD.

Speaking at the event, Mr Cozadd said the new facility is an investment in Roscommon.

“It is particularly meaningful for us to open it in Ireland, close to our global corporate headquarters in Dublin,” said Mr. Cozadd. “We were encouraged to come to Roscommon because of the excellent track record of this community in supporting the pharmaceutical industry and the pool of local talent available.
“We would like to acknowledge the local community, the Roscommon Country Council and IDA Ireland for their continued support and collaboration, and note the remarkable pro-business environment in Ireland that facilitates investments like this one.”

Speaking at the event, Minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor said having a global pharmaceutical company of this calibre establish such a facility in Roscommon is hugely significant.

“The jobs created when the facility is operating at full capacity will be of great benefit to the local area and economy,” she said. “Today’s opening and significant investment is hugely important for Monksland. It is a testament to the talent and expertise of the people of Roscommon. We welcome the new facility and greatly appreciate the investment and loyalty to the region shown by Jazz Pharmaceuticals and to the people of Roscommon,” said Minister Naughten.

Barry Heavey, IDA Ireland’s Global Head of Life Sciences added that IDA Ireland is pleased to see this significant and strategically important development for Jazz Pharmaceuticals come to fruition.

“It demonstrates Ireland’s ability to support manufacturing for this sector in regional locations and confirms the company’s commitment to expanding its presence in Ireland,” he said.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (Nasdaq: JAZZ) is an international biopharmaceutical company focused on improving patients’ lives by identifying, developing and commercializing meaningful products that address unmet medical needs.
The company has a diverse portfolio of products and product candidates, with a focus in the areas of sleep and hematology/oncology.