AbbVie, a global biopharmaceutical company, announced it will further expand its medical device manufacturing facility in Ballytivnan, Sligo, Ireland with €40 million investment, and over the next four years, create 50 new highly-skilled jobs focused on devices that deliver the company's medicines to patients around the world.

The investment is supported by the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) of Ireland and was announced at an event attended by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Employment, Richard Bruton, TD.

The announcement marks continued manufacturing investment by AbbVie in Ireland. Including this announcement, AbbVie’s investment in Ballytivnan and broader manufacturing operations in the country has reached a total of more than €134 million since 2013, when it launched as an independent biopharmaceutical company.

The company’s manufacturing site in Ballytivnan currently produces drug delivery devices, including a pen-style injector that is used by patients around the world who use AbbVie’s treatment indicated for a range of auto-immune conditions. The site is AbbVie’s ‘centre of excellence’ for medical device manufacture, precision engineering, plastics moulding and metrology (the theoretical and practical aspects of measurement).

“For more than 40 years, our expert team in Ireland has been committed to serving patients around the world,” said Joe Kumor, site director at Ballytivnan for AbbVie. “The IDA’s support allows us to build our capabilities and help ensure that patients of AbbVie medicines continue to have access to best-in-class medical devices for their treatment.”

AbbVie’s development of a global medical device centre of excellence in Sligo is broadening the potential for the company’s local workforce. For example, AbbVie is partnering with the Institute of Technology, Sligo, which is establishing a new medical device-focused education programme on its Sligo campus.

“Working with AbbVie or other external partners on our curricula make them highly attractive for graduates,” said professor Vincent Cunnane, president of the Institute of Technology, Sligo. “Together with these types of partnerships, we are also growing Sligo’s presence and reputation in the IT and medical device fields, which ultimately benefits the people of Sligo,” he said.

AbbVie employs more than 500 people at five different sites around the country, including three manufacturing plants – two in Sligo and one in Cork. Each of the sites manufactures portions of AbbVie’s top 20 products. The company’s global manufacturing network includes 13 sites across the United States, Europe, Asia and Puerto Rico, as well as strategic partnerships with third-party manufacturers.