Ex-Hurricane Ophelia & Ireland-based manufacturing: Pfizer, Roche & Takeda update

18-Oct-2017 - Last updated on 18-Oct-2017 at 08:18 GMT

Source wikipedia By NASA - https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/strange-days-ex-hurricane-ophelia-batters-ireland-under-orange-skies, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63423067

Storm Ophelia hit the Green Isle this week, forcing the closure of schools, public institutions, and a number of drug manufacturing sites across the country.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company told us the ex-tropical hurricane – described as the most severe storm to hit Ireland in half a century – affected manufacturing operations at its Bray and Grange Castle, Dublin sites on Monday 16, 2017.

“In Bray, all staff were asked to go home prior before the arrival of the storm, predicted to be around midday,” said spokesperson Ekaterina Reck.

“In Grange Castle, due to the nature of our operations a core group of people remained on site to ensure a chemical reaction that was already in progress come complete safely,” she told us.

The firm said it told all other staff members at the Grange Castle site they could leave work by 11am on Monday.

“The safety of the group remaining on site was ensured by limiting operations to indoor activity only and constant contact was maintained with the leadership team who also maintained a presence on site,” said Reck.

Takeda said full operations resumed Tuesday morning.

“The hurricane had subsided significantly within 12 hours, with no impact to Grange Castle operations,” Reck told us.

Jazz, Pfizer & Roche

Similarly, Jazz Pharmaceuticals’ spokesperson Kristin Rogers told us the firm closed its headquarters in Dublin and its manufacturing site in Athlone on Monday, and reopened on Tuesday morning.

“We expect the storm to have no impact on production,” she told us.

“We also have significant inventory on hand to meet all commercial demands for the products that are manufactured in Ireland,” she added.

Pfizer spokesperson Andy Widger told us it did not close all facilities in response to the hurricane.

The firm has manufacturing sites in Dublin, Kildare, and two API plants in Cork.

“The company has been monitoring the situation and has taken steps to ensure colleague safety while maintaining business continuity,” he told us.

Roche did not close its manufacturing site in Clarecastle, Co Clare.

“We do not expect any impact to our production/operations on site,” said spokesperson Anja von Treskow.