State-of-the-Art Bioprocessing, Research and Training Institute to be established
1 September 2005

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin TD today (1st September 2005) announced that the Government has approved a proposal from IDA Ireland to fund the establishment of a National Institute for Bioprocessing, Research and Training (NIBRT).

This new State-of-the-Art Institute to be established by four leading Irish colleges UCD, TCD, DCU and Sligo IT and will be based at the UCD Industry Park in Dublin. It will have its own board and will receive in excess of €72m over the next 7 years in state support to establish the Institute, its world class research and training programmes and a 9,000 sq. metre facility with a substantial scale up capacity.

In July 2004, IDA Ireland issued an invitation for proposals to establish this new Institute and following an extensive independent international review and negotiation; the submission from a consortium led by UCD in partnership with TCD, DCU and Sligo IT was accepted and submitted to government for funding through IDA Ireland.

The industrially focused Institute, which will be only one of a small number of its kind in the world, will be a centre of excellence in bioprocessing and biomanufacturing technology training and research to support the rapidly growing biopharmaceutical industry in Ireland. A key element will be the substantial investment in a scale up capability within which the training and research can take place. This relatively unique capability will make the training and research carried out at the Institute highly relevant to the needs of the Biopharmaceutical industry in Ireland and throughout the world.

Minister Martin said "this is an extremely important initiative and illustrates the commitment of the Government and IDA Ireland to developing Ireland as one of the worlds leading locations for biopharmaceutical research and manufacturing. It is being funded to build in Ireland a world-class research platform in bioprocessing technologies and state of the art education and training for this emerging industry, which is constrained, globally by skills shortages and technology challenges".

Through the involvement of the academic partners, the new Institute will provide a substantial output of people across the spectrum of the bioprocessing skills, from PhD's to technicians educated in industry best practices and a real time environment. It will also build up a substantial research team to undertake significant collaborative research between academia and industry to address the major technology issues of the bioprocessing industry. The Institute will give Ireland a competitive advantage and act as a magnet of attraction for major biopharmaceuticals investments from both overseas and indigenous companies.

Minister Martin continued, "Ireland has become a global leader for pharmaceutical multinationals and the objective is to replicate our success in the biopharmaceuticals arena. The concept evolved from a strategic competitive need for Ireland to establish an innovative, industry-focused centre for biomanufacturing and bioprocessing technology education, training and research, to continue to compete for international large-scale biopharmaceutical investments".

In welcoming this decision the Minister particularly acknowledged the contribution of the other unsuccessful proposals received. He praised the work and effort of the DCU led consortium who in collaboration with the Athlone Institute of Technology and NUI Galway had led the way in developing the concept. He also acknowledged the fine proposal made by the UCC led consortium and said that he looked forward to all the institutions in the state becoming involved in collaborating with this national initiative in research and training in due course.

ENDS

Notes to Editors
NIBRT will be an independent national institute owned by the collaborating academic institutions, University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin City University and Institute of Technology, Sligo. It will be operated independently of the third level institutions and run by an independent board with the Chairperson appointed by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

As part of its strategy IDA Ireland has identified biopharmaceuticals as a key area of growth with significant investment opportunities for Ireland. The industry is experiencing rapid growth with a 15% annual growth rate. Two-thirds of the drugs currently in the development pipeline internationally have a biopharmaceutical base.