Updated 12.22 pm

PHARMACEUTICAL FIRM Bristol-Myers Squibb is to invest an estimated €720 million on a new factory in Dublin that will employ 400 people when completed.

The facility in Cruiserath in west Dublin will create about 1,000 jobs as part of its four-year construction which is expected to be completed in 2019.

IDA Ireland says that the facility is the second biggest pharmaceutical investment they’ve ever secured.

The 30,000 sq-m plant will be built on the company’s existing base with and will employ engineers and quality specialists in the areas of oncology, virology and immunoscience.

BMS reported global revenue of $3.9 billion in the third quarter of this year and already employs an estimated 300 staff in Dublin.

Making the jobs announcement this morning, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said that the BMS announcement represent a “huge boost” to the Irish economy.

“I had the opportunity to meet with Bristol-Myers Squibb, and I’m delighted they chose Ireland as the location for this large, state-of-the-art facility,” said Kenny.

Smiles from Government, the IDA and Bristol-Myers Squibb IDA Ireland IDA Ireland

The jobs announcement has been described as a “gamechanger” by experts at the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT).

NIBRT CEO said that massive deal, “endorses Ireland as the best location in the world for bioprocessing investment”.

BMS says that the initial finding for the project has been approved with the facility expected to be similar in scale and operation to a $900 million plant in Massachusetts.

Tánaiste Joan Burton also pointed to the employer’s already established presence in the area:

Bristol-Myers Squibb is at the cutting-edge of biological medicine, and the decision to construct its new manufacturing facility in Dublin represents a massive vote of confidence in Ireland’s recovery.

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