A UCD spin-out company is creating 100 high-skilled pharma jobs in Dublin
APC was founded in 2011.
IRISH PHARMACEUTICAL FIRM APC Ltd is set to nearly triple its workforce over the next two years after opening a new research facility in Dublin.
The UCD spin-out, founded by doctor Mark Barrett and professor Brian Glennon in 2011, currently employs 60 people in Ireland.
It focuses on accelerating the development and launch of new medicines for pharmaceutical companies, helping them to commercialise their products and bring them to market.
Opening its new technology centre in Cherrywood, Dublin today, APC said it plans to hire 100 new staff at the facility over the next two years. The new roles will be in high-skilled areas such as chemical engineering and analytics.
APC’s clients clients include eight of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies and five of the top 10 biotech companies in the world.
Chief executive Mark Barrett said that the positions would be based in research and development.
“We are looking for sophisticated R&D positions, 80% of our staff have a PhD qualification at a minimum (so) we are looking to recruit the best and brightest. The jobs will be hired over the next 18 months to two years.”
Mr Barrett also explained the company’s work, saying: “You hear about new molecules being discovered all the time for things like HIV and cancer. Discovery is only half the story (and) turning groundbreaking discoveries into medicines is very hard to do. APC helps accelerate with the development of medicines.
“With our team of engineers (we) develop the processes that allows us to make medicines. We have worked across a range of different areas such as cancer treatments, multiple sclerosis, (etc). We are not bound by any one type of medicine.”
Co-founder Brian Glennon added that it is difficult to say how long it takes to take a medicine from conception to market.
“It typically takes several years to go from development to getting to market. It’s a bit like how long is a piece of string, you could be working on a molecule for years or it could be accelerated for a priority drug, it could take about two to three years for any one medicine,” he said.
