100 JOBS FOR MULHUDDART - HARNEY ROTTA RESEARCH ESTABLISHES PHARMACEUTICAL PLANT ITALIAN MARKET TARGETED - TÁNAISTE

Mary Harney, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment announced today (Friday 18th September, 1998) that Rotta Research Group, a family owned Italian pharmaceutical group based in Milan, had agreed a proposal with IDA Ireland to establish a new manufacturing facility in Mulhuddart, Co. Dublin. Speaking at a ceremony on the site today the Tánaiste said that the new project involved investment of £18.3 million and would create 100 new jobs within five years.

"Our drive to target the Italian foreign direct investment market is now beginning to bear fruit. This Rotta project is particularly impressive and is, I believe, a significant breakthrough in attracting high quality Italian investment in Ireland", said the Tánaiste.

The Tánaiste last week led an intensive IDA Ireland promotional visit to Italy during which she met representatives of 40 companies interested in doing further business with and in Ireland.

"I believe that the Italian market has significant future potential in terms of trade and investment. I have asked both Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland to intensify their endeavours to leverage more business from Italy".

The Tánaiste, who was accompanied at the ceremony by Professor Luigi Rovati, founder of Rotta Research said that site work had already commenced and construction of three new buildings will get underway immediately to accommodate the Rotta requirements. The new integrated bulk and finishing facility will be constructed on a 20 acre site in Mulhuddart, and the end product, for the treatment of osteoarthritis, will be in sachet, capsule and tablet form. "This is a welcome addition to the pharmaceuticals industry in Ireland" added the Tánaiste "as formulation plants in the pharmaceutical sector are particularly targeted by IDA Ireland as they are clean, labour intensive, profitable and create stable, well-paid employment."

Rotta Research Group was founded by Professor Luigi Rovati in 1961 and has sales of about £90 million per annum, with manufacturing plants in Italy, Germany, Spain and Portugal. Research and Development has been a key factor in the Group's success and over 10% of the 650 employees are engaged in R&D. To date the group has developed over 50 patented molecules and has eight original products sold in over 60 countries.

Rotta's main therapeutic areas are rheumatology, osteoporosis, gastroenterology, gynecology and hormone replacement therapy and its main markets are in Europe and Japan. The company entered the USA market last year and this market is expected to account for almost one-third of all sales for 1998.

The anti-rheumatic market is estimated to be £1.4 billion in Europe and £4.5 billion worldwide. Rotta operates in the therapeutic class known as "selective symptom modifying drugs for osteoarthritis" and is a market leader in this segment. Their niche market is small compared to the overall market, but Rotta is set for continued growth due to the ageing population worldwide. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease of articular cartilage and joints most commonly found in those over the age of 55 years. There is a growing demand for treatment, as people are living longer and continue to be active into old age.

At present Rotta's leading product, a selective treatment for osteoarthritis, is being produced by subcontractors around Europe. The Mulhuddart plant will enable the company to consolidate the manufacture of their product into one location.

Professor Rovati thanked the Tánaiste for her "auspicious presence", he said that the decision of setting-up a manufacturing facility in Ireland had been "favourably influenced by the high technical skills of Irish workers and by the excellent assistance of Irish authorities, in particular IDA Ireland".

Rotta's CEO expressed his hope that the new Irish subsidiary could become the most important manufacturing facility of the Group to serve the international market as well as one of the research centres for the discovery of new drugs.

In welcoming Rotta Research to Mulhuddart, the Tánaiste said that they were a strong addition to the growing number of quality pharmaceuticals firms in the Blanchardstowm area "This is the sixth major pharmaceutical facility to locate in the Mulhuddart area with IDA Ireland support.

With today's announcement and the pending development of the Bristol Myers Squibb site at Cruisrath the location is fast building towards 1,000 high quality jobs in a very stable and high value industrial sector. These developments provide significant opportunities for the construction sector as much as providing a range of opportunities for the young and skilled workers available locally."