Allergan opens €160m addition to Irish Botox plant
Botox manufacturer Allergan officially opened its new facility on its Westport, Ireland campus on January 28.
The new addition to the Co. Mayo-based manufacturing and microbiology campus is known as B2. The new facility was officially opened by Ireland’s minister for community and rural affairs Michael Ring, himself a Westport native.
The €160 million biologics plant will create 63 jobs in the local area allow Allergan to further invest in and expand its ability to meet growing demand for its flagship products, especially for Botox, for which the pharmaceutical giant recently celebrated shipping its 100 millionth vial.
At the launch event, Paul Coffey, vice president of global manufacturing and site lead at Allergan Westport, commented: "With the addition of a new microbiology and cell-based laboratory too, the team here in Westport are looking forward to contributing to product innovations that will make a difference to patients' lives all over the world and maintain our position at the forefront of the global biopharma industry.”
Wayne Swanton, Allergan’s executive vice president, commented: “Our work obviously needs substantial investment but it also requires a world class team, in order to be able to execute on the preciseness that is required to manufacture biologics, and especially Botox.
“We are very proud to say that we developed this world-class brand, with a world-class team, right here in Westport. These are 1,300 people who make a difference in the lives of our patients everyday.”
Allergan Westport campus opened in 1977 with 25 employees, and has since grown considerably in size to employ more than 1,300 people in the town, and more than 2,000 in Ireland.
Aesthetic Medicine attended the launch event alongside press representatives and Allergan employees from across the globe.
This milestone coincides with the 30th anniversary of Botox’s first FDA approval.