Tánaiste opens ALZA Ireland’s Cashel Facility

“Project has immense strategic significance” - Harney

The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, Mary Harney TD, today (Tuesday 7 September 2004) officially opened the new manufacturing facility of ALZA Ireland Ltd., at Cashel, Co Tipperary. The Cashel facility is ALZA Corporation’s first manufacturing facility outside of the US.

With the support of IDA Ireland, ALZA Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, announced in 2001 that Ireland would be the location for its new commercial manufacturing facility for the production of drug delivery systems. This initial $50 million investment has led to the creation of 100 jobs to-date.

Speaking at the opening An Tánaiste said that she was delighted with the progress that had been made at the facility.

She added: “This investment was hailed as a major breakthrough for the economic development of Cashel at the time of its announcement and here today is evidence of the hard work, dedication and commitment that ALZA Corporation and the local management team have undertaken since 2001 in partnership with the local authorities and the community. ALZA are to be congratulated on this 60,000 sq ft state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. It exemplifies a high standard environment for the type of high skill pharmaceutical manufacturing activities that we are seeking to attract.”

While ALZA Ireland Ltd initially located in a ready built 20,000 sq ft IDA advance building, the company has extended the facility by approximately 40,000 sq ft in order to position itself to service the strong growth in markets outside the US for its drug delivery products. ALZA Corporation’s technologies include oral delivery systems, transdermal systems and human implantable systems which all control the dosage, timing and release of medication in a range of human medicines.

Ms Christine Poon, Worldwide Chairman, Medicine and Nutritionals, Johnson & Johnson Corporation and member of the Johnson & Johnson Executive Committee, said that the ALZA Ireland facility is now manufacturing two of the transdermal products that incorporate the company’s proprietary drug delivery technologies. “These drugs include Durogesic a treatment for chronic pain and Niquitin CQ, an aid to smoking cessation which is licensed for sales and marketing to GlaxoSmithKline”.

She said that demand for both products was continuously growing with Niquitin CQ’s growth mainly due to health education campaigns to educate consumers about the product’s benefits. “This product has been introduced in most European markets and it is already registered in several other countries including several in the Far East. Durogesic is an important pain-relieving drug that is licensed for sales and marketing to Janssen-Cilag, a sister company of ALZA, and is currently being sold in over 30 countries worldwide for the treatment of both malignant and non-malignant pain” she said.

Manufacturing capability at the ALZA Ireland facility includes dispensing, drug mixing, system pouching, packaging and labeling. In 2001 the project was scheduled to employ approximately 100 people and to date it has achieved this complement of staff with employment expected to rise as production increases. ALZA and Johnson & Johnson’s reputation as employers of choice has been a major factor in attracting talent to join its workforce. The emphasis has been on technology and science qualifications, with approximately 50% of the current employees being of graduate level or higher.

Ms Poon said that ALZA Corporation had conducted a thorough search worldwide when seeking a location for a base to service its non-US markets. “ALZA researched Ireland’s labour availability, costs, infrastructure, tax environment and most importantly your proximity to markets. In doing so we visited several locations within Ireland but the South East Region, and specifically Cashel, was chosen because of its readily available land and building and its proximity to customers” she said.

The Tánaiste concluded by confirming the project’s strategic significance in that it not only brings new drug delivery technology to Ireland, but it further strengthens Ireland’s position within the pharmaceutical sector worldwide.

The Tánaiste said: “The Johnson & Johnson group of companies, including ALZA, have played a significant role in the enhancement of the pharmaceutical sector in Ireland and the most recent addition to this, the announcement by Centocor to establish its Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Centre of Excellence in Cork, enables IDA Ireland and the Government to confidently talk to potential investors about Ireland being the “must be” location for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies throughout the world.”

For further information contact:

O’Sullivan PR, Cork

021 4891100

Notes to Editors