At NIBRT’s sixth annual Careers in Biopharma event, we spoke to some of the major biopharma players to find out who they’re looking for.
The biopharma industry in Ireland is growing at an exponential rate and many of the biggest industry names have made Ireland their home and are investing hugely in their Irish facilities.
Last year, Chinese giant WuXi Biologics said it would build Ireland’s largest biomanufacturing facility using single-use bioreactors in Dundalk.
In October 2018, MSD announced plans to build a new standalone manufacturing plant in Carlow, next to its existing facility.
Earlier this month, Edwards Lifesciences and Johnson & Johnson Vision Care both announced major investments and expansions in their respective Limerick facilities.
With these being just a few examples, it’s clear that Ireland’s biopharma sector is huge. And, with so many jobs to fill, these companies will need to battle it out for the best talent. Luckily, the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) hosts an annual Careers in Biopharma event, giving major companies and jobseekers the opportunity to come together.
The NIBRT event is now in its sixth year, and Siliconrepublic.com headed down to talk to some of the companies in attendance and find out what they were hoping to achieve. All companies expressed their interest in attracting talent, both experienced and newly graduated. They also wanted to tell their story and talk about their respective developments within Ireland.
Allergan’s Conor O’Neill said it was also good to meet people who were interested in switching careers into the biopharma industry. “I’ve met several people this morning [who] are changing careers,” he said. “It’s good to see these people and meet people in the industry as well.”
Lynsey Grehan from Bristol-Myers Squibb said the company is on the lookout for excellent candidates. “We have a number of different open positions in both our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Cruiserath Biologics and also in our external manufacturing organisation. We’re really here today to connect with strong candidates who have a good passion for working in the biopharma industry.”
Amgen’s talent acquisition manager, Kevin Gordon, said the company is looking for graduates who want to work in the biotech industry, “particularly within engineering, manufacturing and supply chain”.
As WuXi Biologics is a new company to Ireland, site head Brendan McGrath said the company has exciting plans to build a state-of-the-art factory in Dundalk. “We’re here today to advertise WuXi as a company and to start to let people know what we’re doing and when we’re going to start hiring,” he said.