Pfizer has announced its largest Irish investment weeks after rumors emerged of a €1 billion+ expansion at its Grange Castle, Dublin biomanufacturing site.

In October, the Irish press revealed Pfizer was set to invest €1 billion into the 90-acre manufacturing site in Clondalkin, Dublin. At the time, the Big Pharma firm refused to comment when contacted by this publication.

But six weeks on, and the cat is out of the single-use bag, with Pfizer formalizing the €1.2 ($1.26) billion investment to build a new facility to double the site’s capacity for biological drug substance.

Pfizer’s Grange Castle site in Dublin, Ireland. Image c/o Google

Site leader Marius McNicholas described the news as “an historic day today in Pfizer Grange Castle” on LinkedIn, with the investment “Pfizer’s biggest expansion investment to date in Ireland.”

Beyond the doubling of capacity, the expansion will create up 500 roles, he said, bringing the total number of Pfizer employees in Ireland to approximately 5,500.

Ireland’s An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar welcomed the investment, stating: “The pharma sector is such an important part of the Irish economy and the commitment shown by Pfizer to further expand its business here is great news.

“The work undertaken at their facilities across Ireland saves and improves the lives of people all over the world.  I am very pleased that their presence in Dublin, and indeed in Ireland, continues to go from strength to strength.”

The expansion is the latest for Pfizer’s Grange Castle. Last year, the site benefitted from a $40 million mRNA expansion to support the firm’s COVID-19 vaccine efforts.