The PPD clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific has completed the expansion of its Athlone GMP (good manufacturing practices ) laboratory facility within the Athlone Business and Technology Park.
The expansion, originally announced in April 2021, significantly increases the size of its current facility adding cell and gene therapy testing to its portfolio of services.
The expansion enhances the company’s ability to deliver global scientific and technical expertise to meet growing customer demand in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region. By offering these services at the Athlone operation, the business can provide clients in these locations with the same services already available in the US through its Middleton, Wisconsin, GMP lab.
The enlarged operations will enhance the clinical research organization’s (CRO ) capabilities in leading technologies related to biopharmaceutical testing and specialty testing for biologics and small molecules. This expansion will enable the CRO to provide customers with additional services aimed at reducing time to market for new drug products in important areas such as cell and gene therapies.
“We are thankful our expansion has been welcomed and supported by the Irish government and IDA Ireland, and we’re confident these new developments will benefit our customers. “We value our strong collaborative relationship with the Athlone community and the strength of its employee base.
“The expansion has added 3,250 sq. meters (35,000 sq. feet ) to the operation, with the current total now at 7,710 sq. meters (83,000 sq. feet ). We project creating 180 new jobs in conjunction with the expansion,” Ismael Valverde Martin, Ph.D., vice president of the Athlone GMP lab, stated.
