New warehouse earmarked for Alexion site
Alexion Pharmaceuticals looks set to continue to grow its local footprint after signalling plans to develop a new warehouse, extra accommodation and a loading bay at its base in Monksland.
An application lodged on January 6 last, is seeking approval to move ahead with the building, mainly on one level, with a ground floor (905 square metres), and a small technical mezzanine floor (85 square metres) bringing the total building floor area to 990 square metres, the equivalent of over 10,600 square feet.
Alexion, which specialises in treatments for rare diseases, is currently based in Monksland Industrial Estate, adjacent to Alkermes. At the end of July last year, the company which has its headquarters in Boston, was acquired by AstraZeneca.
“The closing of the acquisition marks the company’s entry into medicines for rare diseases and the beginning of a new chapter for AstraZeneca,” a statement on the AstraZeneca website said at the time.
Marc Dunoyer, incoming Chief Executive Officer, Alexion and Chief Financial Officer, AstraZeneca, commented following the sale: “I am delighted to be working alongside my new colleagues at Alexion where we will continue to discover, develop and deliver medicines that change the lives of people suffering from rare diseases.
“We look forward to also applying Alexion’s complement-biology platform across areas of AstraZeneca’s broader early stage pipeline and, significantly, to the extraordinary opportunity to extend existing and future rare disease medicines to patients in many countries where AstraZeneca already has a strong presence.”
Back in 2016, Alexion announced plans to construct a new €100 million manufacturing facility in Athlone; the new biologics unit was an expansion of its operation in Monksland which already housed a vial fill-finish facility for medicines Three years later it emerged that Alexion had invested €188 million into its facility in Monksland, according to documents it filed as part of an application for a new industrial emissions licence.
A decision is due from Roscommon County Council by March 3 next on the latest plans, which also includes all associated infrastructure, road works, additional car parking associated with the development and removal of existing temporary modular office accommodation.