With global economies struggling it only gives drug manufacturers with sizable investment dollars more leverage to pit local and national governments against each other to see who can offer up the sweetest packages to earn the right to that money. GSK is playing tough with the UK over how it will invest going forward, demanding better tax incentives, patent support, etc. If not, GSK's Andrew Witty hints that Ireland, Belgium, Singapore and other locales are only more than happy to oblige.

Pfizer announced this morning that the last of its UK plants will close with the Sandwich manufacturing operations in east Kent. The decision brings an end to 53 years of manufacturing history at the plant, and will leave 420 without jobs. Pfizer says that the layoffs, which have also included R&D and sales cuts over the past two years, are a result of its consolidation plan for global manufacturing operations.

BBC reports that the closure was not a reflection on the performance of a "talented and skilled workforce," (Not very comforting from the unemployment lines...) some of whom have been with Pfizer since the plant's opening.

Pfizer plans to shift some UK production to Pfizer sites in Ireland and the U.S. and is also considering outsourcing other activities to third parties.

Click here for the full story.

MV

My mother is 100% Irish. Her children, 50%. "Don't forget your heritage even though I was forced to give you an Italian last name," she would say hoping she would not have to insert an IV of soda bread into our veins to ensure that we'd remember Ireland.

Needless to say, when I heard the faint bagpipes of the Ireland booth at this year's BIO show, I was inherently forced (by both my mother and my editor) to stop. I already knew that Ireland had produced the greatest band in history (see Blogging from Bio 3), but I also learned that over the past four years, Ireland has witnessed more than $6 billion in investments from some of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.

For example, Wyeth Biopharma has invested $2 million in biopharmaceutical manufacturing in Ireland, Genzyme has built a plant in Waterford, Eli Lilly recently announced plans for new Irish facilities, Bristol Meyers Squibb established a development group, and Pfizer has invested $300 million in a new fill finish facility. And this list goes on with other big names such as Abbott Laboratories, Johnson & Johnson, and Roche invested in Ireland.

Why is Ireland such an attractive venue for these large companies? The Irish government and those who have set up businesses there cite a fiscal good environment characterized by a skilled workforce, low corporate taxes, and a strong emphasis on life science research and development. Everyone at Team Biotech Ireland was in good spirits about the outlook of the industry and their contributions to the overall cause.

As I said, it is a good time to be Irish.

PS - I had to promise my friends at the Ireland booth that I would be back Tuesday afternoon at 2pm for their Irish dancing competition...I'll keep you posted on where I place.

Michele Vaccarello, Managing Editor, Digital Media

Pharmalot reported today that Amgen's CFO resigned today. Here's how the International Herald Tribune reported the story.  But I'd missed previous reports that construction the company's much-anticipated $1-billion plant in Ireland will be postponed for two years. Here's one account of the story and its potential impact from the Irish press.  Guess big bio is becoming a lot more like big pharma.