Aerie Pharmaceuticals announces 50 jobs for Athlone

North Carolina-headquartered pharma firm to establish manufacturing facility in Ireland

Aerie Pharmaceuticals is to create 50 jobs in Athlone with the establishment of a new manufacturing facility in the town.

The project, which is supported by IDA Ireland, will produce commercial supplies for the company's product candidates Rhopress and Roclatan. Aerie is currently seeking approval for the products.

Aerie is a North Carolina-headquartered clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialisation of therapies for the treatment of patients with glaucoma and other eye diseases.

The firm has entered into a lease agreement with IDA Ireland to establish the plant in its recently constructed 2,650m sq IDA Advanced Technology Building in Athlone.

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Aerie has commenced its design plan for the facility and expects to begin internal construction shortly. The company will initially create up to 50 new jobs in sterile manufacturing, quality, engineering and other support capabilities.

"We have now achieved another milestone in executing our stated long-term strategy. As we prepare for commercialisation, it is increasingly important that we ensure greater independence regarding our finished product sourcing, while also meaningfully reducing our future product costs," said Vicente Anido Jr, chief executive and chairman at Aerie.

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor is a former Irish Times business journalist