A PURPOSE-BUILT €57 million research and training centre with a goal to service the needs of the already large and growing biopharma industry in Ireland.

The building is the headquarters for the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (Nibrt). It was wholly funded by the Government via IDA Ireland and was the only facility of its kind anywhere in the world.

Nibrt was formally opened in 2011. It is a limited company set up specifically to service the research and training needs of companies involved in the manufacture of biopharmaceuticals.

These are human and animal medicines produced using genetically engineered bacteria, with insulin a common example.

Based on University College Dublin’s Belfield campus, it is a collaborative centre involving four academic partners: UCD, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin City University and Institute of Technology Sligo.

It was an investment that would underpin the biopharmaceutical industry here by backing collaboration between these companies and academic partners.

It has a core research, training and administrative staff of 60, but temporary research clusters can be assembled to tackle specific bioprocessing research issues that arise.