Manufacturing & Supply Chain

PCI Pharma Services, a leading pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), has signed a 25-year lease agreement and will construct a new industrial facility at CityNorth Business Campus in Stamullen, County Meath. With direct access to the M1 motorway, the conveniently located development, offers state-of-the-art facilities, making it an ideal choice for PCI’s continued growth in the region.

For PCI, the forthcoming facility will provide 82,000 sq ft of additional production and services space alongside its existing 45,000-sq-ft facility. Per PCI’s commitment to bolstering eco-friendliness, the spacious new plant will offer high sustainability credentials including a targeted LEED Gold certification, A3 BER, and rainwater harvesting. The building will be completed in Q1 2025, with PCI then undertaking an extensive fit out for commercial pharmaceutical packaging operations, one of its key business segments.

PCI supports the development, manufacturing, and packaging of critical medicines across the drug product lifecycle, from early phase clinical trials through product launch and commercial market supply. PCI brings the proven experience that comes with more than 90 successful product launches each year and over five decades in the healthcare services business. The company currently has 30 sites across seven countries (Australia, Canada, U.S., Ireland, Wales, Germany and Spain), and over 7,000 employees working to bring life-changing therapies to patients.

The company’s facilities in Ireland provide comprehensive packaging solutions for oral solid dose (tablets and capsules) and sterile injectable dosage forms. The new plant will leverage the assets at PCI’s existing CityNorth facility, combining technology with personnel expertise to help its biopharma clients achieve quality manufacturing and speed to market for life-changing medicines.

CityNorth Business Campus opened in 2006 with a variety of high quality commercial business sites positioned around the state-of-the-art 4-star CityNorth Hotel, which provides excellent amenities for both business and leisure. The campus is situated on the M1 motorway at junction 7 offering occupier’s access to the Port Tunnel/M50 network within 15 minutes, and Belfast City Centre within 90 minutes. Occupiers of the Business Campus include Circle K service station and a range of commercial businesses.

McGarrell Reilly has recently secured full planning permission for further units within the campus ranging from 60,000 to 100,000 sq ft. Further tailored design and build solutions are available on a To Let/For Sale basis with a range of flexible options to cater to an array of potential occupiers.

“We are delighted to welcome PCI’s further expansion in the campus,” said Sean Reilly, Founder of McGarrell Reilly. “Their decision to locate here and substantially grow their operations is a great endorsement of CityNorth Business Campus. We are confident that PCI will continue to thrive in this exceptional campus environment and that CityNorth will continue to attract further high-profile tenants.”

“This strategic expansion of our commercial packaging operations is an investment that will provide growth in this key area close to Dublin over the next 3-5 years,” said James McDermott, General Manager, PCI Pharma Services, Ireland. “The enhanced capabilities and capacity at the PCI CityNorth campus will ensure that we remain the go-to CDMO for innovative commercial packaging technology solutions for pharmaceutical product launches and ongoing market supply.  We look forward to working with our long-term contractor partners and seeing the site develop over the coming months to help us meet our growing client demands.”

Global Head of Life Sciences at IDA Ireland Rachel Shelly said: “This expansion by PCI, a provider of sterile and high potent drug development, clinician trial services and commercial packaging for the pharma and biopharma sectors, is excellent news for county Meath and indeed the entire mid-east region. PCI is an established member of the region’s growing life science cluster, and this latest announcement reinforces their commitment to Ireland. I wish the team continued success as they grow their operations here.”

Brendan Smyth of Cushman and Wakefield, who represented McGarrell Reilly on the letting, has said: “CityNorth is one of the few remaining locations which has the ability to provide large scale development just off a motorway interchange. A number of occupiers are currently in discussions around both pre lettings and forward purchases.”