Major Developments for GlaxoSmithKline in Cork

Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin has announced that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is to invest up to 250 million euros over five years in its production site at Currabinny, Co. Cork to manufacture products, including the active ingredient for TYKERB (lapatinib), a new oral treatment for advanced breast cancer.

The investment is supported by IDA Ireland and will create up to 150 new high level positions.

GSK announced earlier this month that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved TYKERB (lapatinib), in combination with Xeloda (capecitabine), for the treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic breast cancer whose tumours overexpress HER2 and who have received prior therapy including an anthracycline, a taxane and trastuzumab.

The drug is the first, once-daily oral treatment option for this patient population and data show the combination with caecitabine is effective for women whose disease has recurred despite previous treatment.

Worldwide, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women, resulting in over one million new cases each year. Each year around 360,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in Europe. In Ireland, one woman in eleven will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Despite advances, however, many women progress after treatment and effective alternatives are needed.

Minister Martin said: "We were pleased to hear that GSK has received FDA approval for Tykerb and delighted to know it would be manufactured in Ireland. It is marvellous news for the pharmaceutical industry base in Ireland, but even more so for the millions of women worldwide who suffer from the most horrific disease of breast cancer. I am delighted to announce this decision on behalf of GlaxoSmithKline, a company at the forefront of pharmaceutical development and a leader in its field.”

The Minister continued: “This investment further strengthens Cork’s enviable reputation as a location of excellence in the pharmaceutical industry. It is also more evidence of the company's commitment to Ireland, following on from its recent announcement of a major research collaboration with the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre in UCC”. Andrew Witty, President of GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals in Europe said: “The recent approval of Tykerb by the FDA is great news for those women with advanced breast cancer and it demonstrates our R&D organisation’s strong commitment to the discovery and development of novel cancer treatments. We are dedicated to the further study and development of Tykerb in a variety of settings including adjuvant breast cancer as well as in other solid tumor types and I’m delighted that Irish researchers will be assisting us in this regard."

(CD)