GAELEO, the Cork based pharmaceutical manufacturer, has announced a £45 million expansion at its Little Island plant which would create an additional 150 jobs over the next three years,

A wholly owned subsidiary of the US group, Pharmacia & Upjohn, Gaeleo began operations in Cork in 1975 with a staff of 14 people. It now employs a 70 strong workforce and specialises in the manufacture of bulk pharmaceuticals used in the treatment of cancer, depression and senility.

The plant also manufactures nicotine for use in Gaeleo's smoking cessation aid.

It is anticipated that this year the value of the total output, which will be for export, will be in excess of £20 million.

Making the announcement yesterday, Mr Gerry Cahill, managing director of Gaeleo, said the expansion programme would take three years to complete and would make the Little Island plant a key operations centre within the Pharmacia & Upjohn group.

The new jobs will be recruited from a broad spectrum of disciplines, mainly in the third level area, he added, and the knock on effect for the local economy could be worth in the order of £20 million a year.

In a statement welcoming the move, the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Richard Bruton, said that the level of investment announced by Gaeleo was further proof that "Cork is coming out of the shadows and is now, rightly, enjoying strong economic activity that is translating into badly needed jobs".

Gaeleo's parent company, he added, was formed through the recent merger of Pharmacia of Sweden and Upjohn of Michigan. Its worldwide workforce now totalled more than 34,000 people, and its research and development budget was in excess of $1 billion a year.