A decision by SmithKline Beecham to locate a £20 million (€25.4 million) research and development (R&D) pilot plant in its manufacturing facility in Cork has been greeted as a significant development for the Irish operation. The new R&D operation, which it is hoped will be up and running by late next year, will create 20 new jobs and enhance the position of the Cork plant in the multinational's worldwide operation.

A spokesman for IDA Ireland said the development marked a deepening of the company's involvement in Cork and was the type of development the authority is keen to see with multinationals, particularly pharmaceuticals where there are currently few new "greenfield" developments.