Minister Martin Announces Jobs Boost For Waterford

Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin TD has announced that Teva Pharmaceutical, one of the world's largest manufacturer of generic medicines, is investing €65 million at its existing facility in Waterford.

The investment, supported by IDA Ireland, will create up to 165 highly skilled positions over five years.

Making the announcement Minister Martin said: "This strategic investment will significantly increase the production capacity of the site, allowing it to compete successfully with economies of scale in global markets. It will also create 165 highly skilled positions in the fields of research and development, manufacturing, quality control and administrative and support services."

Minister Martin welcomed Teva Pharmaceuticals commitment to its Irish subsidiary, the local workforce and the pharmaceutical sector in Ireland.

"The decision to make this investment owes a great deal to the strong performance of the site to date. The expertise and commitment of the management and staff at this facility singled out IVAX as the prime location for this investment. The site's R&D team, for example, was responsible for developing new device technologies for metered dose inhalers which have been very well received by the patients in the markets it serves. The fact that IVAX Waterford is also Teva's primary respiratory global research centre is testimony to its leading role and prestigious position within the group."

Teva spokesperson Mr Jacob Winter, Group Vice President Global Generic Resources, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd said: "IVAX plays a critical role in the corporate strategy and continued success of Teva Pharmaceuticals. We face intense competition in the generic drug market from other generic drug manufacturers, brand-name drug companies through authorised generics, manufacturers of branded drugs that continue to produce those drugs after patent expirations and manufacturers of therapeutically similar drugs. However, through this investment IVAX will allow us to protect our products’ leading market shares, add new capability and broaden our geographical reach and impact. We see Teva Pharmaceuticals continuing to be the leading low-cost generic drug producer, by expanding production and building economies of scale, objectives which the IVAX facility in Waterford will directly support."

Teva was founded in Jerusalem in 1901 as a small wholesale drug business. In 1964, three firms merged to become Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Israel's largest healthcare company. Today, Teva is a global pharmaceutical company specialising in the development, production and marketing of branded and generic pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients.

(CD/JM)