BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a global medical technology company, plans to open a new research and development (R&D) centre of excellence in Limerick and bring 100 jobs to the city. The €21m investment in the new centre includes an extensive renovation of the former UniGolf facility in the National Technology Park. Once completed, it is planned to house more than 200 high-tech positions, which includes more than 100 BD jobs that already exist in Limerick and the 100 new positions. The BD Limerick Centre of Excellence will initially be focused on product and software development, clinical research instrumentation and prototype development, primarily for the company’s life sciences businesses. “Ireland is an important part of our growth plans, and the Limerick Centre of Excellence is foundational in our objective to build an agile, world-class global organisation to deliver an R&D portfolio that drives growth. This will require significant hiring of R&D associates, collaboration with local universities and the development of new technical capabilities,” said Ellen Strahlman, MD, MHSc, executive VP R&D and chief medical officer for BD. “Areas served by activities and products arising from our new R&D Centre of Excellence will include the fields of microbiology and molecular biology, clinical and cellular research analysis, and industrial microbiology. “Customers will include hospitals, laboratories and clinics, reference laboratories, industrial laboratories, physicians’ office practices, alternate site health care, academic and government institutions, and research facilities. Limerick will be very important for our strategic growth,”  she added. BD has invested significantly in Irish Jobs and the Irish economy since 1964 with two sites in Drogheda and Dun Laoghaire, employing more than 500 people in highly skilled positions. With the recent acquisition of GenCell Biosystems Limited in Limerick, the number of BD employees in Ireland has risen to nearly 600.