Healthcare company OPKO Health plans to create 200 highly skilled jobs over the next five years through expanding the EirGen Pharma facility in Westside Business Park in Waterford and establishing a new Product Development Centre in the Waterford Business and Technology Park. The company is locating in the IDA’s newly built Advance Technology Building (ATB) on the park. EirGen Pharma was established in 2005 by two former IVAX Pharmaceuticals executives, Patsy Carney and Tom Brennan. EirGen focuses on the development and commercial supply of specialised oncology products for global markets. EirGen was acquired by OPKO Health Inc. in May 2015. OPKO’s planned growth of EirGen’s presence in Waterford over the next five years involves the expansion of EirGen’s existing manufacturing facility in Westside Business Park and the establishment of the R&D Centre with manufacturing capabilities for new sterile fill finish and dry powder inhalation products. “Today’s announcement marks a significant milestone for EirGen Pharma and this investment underpins our strategy to establish Ireland as a centre of excellence for R&D and supply chain activities,” said Phillip Frost, MD, chairman and CEO of OPKO Health. “We appreciate IDA’s efforts to create an attractive business environment for companies like ours, and we look forward to expanding our workforce by drawing upon the region’s highly skilled labour pool.” “I welcome this expansion by EirGen Pharma, which will add significantly to the growing life sciences cluster in the South East. It is great news that a company that was founded locally is now creating 200 jobs in a key regional location, especially as it is going into the first ATB built in Waterford,” said Martin Shanahan of IDA Ireland.