BioMarin bolsters Ireland footprint with $63m expansion

The €60 million ($63 million) Shanbally, Cork expansion aims to increase production capacity. The facility will manufacture bulk drug substances and drug products and perform fill-finish services. The Ireland facility is BioMarin’s only manufacturing site located outside the US. 

“This investment in our Cork facility [will] enhance our [...] manufacturing capabilities and support the growth of [...] medicines for [patients] living with rare conditions around the world,” said Evelyn Marchany Garcia, chief quality officer of BioMarin Pharmaceutical.  

“The Shanbally facility plays a crucial role in our global network, and this expansion emphasizes our confidence in Ireland’s skilled workforce and the strategic importance of this site to BioMarin’s long-term success.” 

The firm invested €38 million over four years at the site in an aseptic production facility to manufacture, package, and label therapies. Through this expansion, BioMarin will manufacture several commercial products and support additional clinical and commercial pipelines, including gene therapies, the firm said. 

“As a global leader in the biopharmaceutical sector, BioMarin’s ongoing investment in Ireland is a welcome endorsement of the country’s position globally as a location of choice for biopharmaceuticals and a trailblazer in advancing healthcare solutions,” said Michael Lohan, CEO, IDA Ireland. 

“By opening this new quality control and process development laboratory, BioMarin will create new opportunities for collaboration, talent development and growth, ensuring that the life sciences sector in Ireland continues to make an impact on patients’ lives worldwide.” 

The company employs more than 500 people in Ireland, including those who work at the firm's commercial office in Dublin. 

In November 2023, BioProcess Insider reported that investment management firm Elliott has built a stake in BioMarin with an investment of over $1 billion. This was largely attributed to significant wins pocketed by BioMarin in the past, including approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its single-dose hemophilia A gene therapy, Roctavian (valoctocogene roxaparvovec) in July. The therapy was approved for use in Europe in 2022. 

In the third quarter of 2024, the firm reported a 28% year-on-year increase in revenue, reaching $746 million, reinforcing its projection of achieving an estimated $4 billion of the total revenue by 2027.