PFIZER HAS CONFIRMED the sale of its plant at Shanbally in Ringaskiddy, Co Cork – in a move that will actually increase the number of jobs there.

The plant has been sold to Nasdaq-listed pharmaceutical company BioMarin, which this afternoon said it would create 100 jobs over the next five year at the facility.

Pfizer had announced last month that it intended to close the plant, with the potential loss of 75 jobs there, as part of a global restructuring following its merger with another pharmaceutical giant Wyeth. It was due to shut the Shanbally plant in August.

Today, however, BioMarin said it would be buying the plant for $48.5m (€34.1m). The facility will now be used for the treatment of rare diseases.

Pfizer is to continue phasing out its own operations with the loss of 65 positions, subject to an employee consultation. The facility will be transferred on a phased basis and Pfizer said it would work with recruitment companies to support a transition.

Jobs minister Richard Bruton welcomed the news, saying the pharmaceutical industry had become a traditional strength of the Irish economy.

“It is crucial that we continue to set and meet ever more ambitious targets in this area,” Bruton said.

BioMarin chief executive Jean Jacques Bienaimé said the plant would “greatly expand our manufacturing capacity to accommodate our growing commercial portfolio and advancing clinical programmes.”