The event is designed to connect students and professionals with key employers, alongside providing industry insights and upskilling opportunities.

This coming Saturday (25 April), the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) will hold the 12th annual Careers in Biopharma event. 

Taking place in the O’Reilly Hall at University College Dublin (UCD), the event is an opportunity for students, graduates and jobseekers to expand their knowledge of the biopharma sector. Attendees can meet with key industry employers, sit in on lectures, engage with upskilling opportunities and expand their networks. 

Registration for the event is free and those interested in attending can register in advance. The following is a list of some of the STEM organisations and institutions that will be in attendance. 

AbbVie

US pharmaceutical company Abbvie was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Chicago. The organisation has more than 80 global locations, including in Cork, Dublin, Sligo and Mayo. AbbVie focuses primarily on discovering, developing and delivering therapies and treatments for serious illnesses, in areas such as immunology, oncology and neuroscience. 

Alexion

Established in 1992 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Alexion has been operating in Ireland since 2013, when it opened its first Irish location in Blanchardstown. Between the Dublin and Athlone locations, Alexion employs more than 1300 people in Ireland. Acquired by AstraZeneca in 2020, Alexion focuses on creating therapies and solutions for complex and rare diseases. 

Amgen

Biopharmaceutical company Amgen was first established in 1980 and has its primary location in Thousand Oaks California. There are two locations in Dublin and the organisation’s mission involves discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering innovative medicines to fight some of the world’s most serious conditions, such as heart disease, obesity-related conditions, rare illnesses, inflammatory conditions and cancer. In January of this year, Amgen announced the acquisition of cancer drug discovery platform Dark Blue Therapeutics in a deal valued at up to $840m. 

Bristol Myers Squibb

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) has been active in Ireland for 52 years, beginning operations in 1964 with an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Plant in Swords, Dublin. Currently, in Ireland, BMS runs a biologics drug-substance manufacturing facility in Cruiserath and external manufacturing divisions in Blanchardstown and Shannon. Roughly 1,000 people in Ireland are currently employed by BMS. 

Eli Lilly

US pharma giant Eli Lilly manufacturers treatments in areas such as Alzheimer’s, cancer and diabetes. The company has been operating in Ireland since 1978 and employs more than 3,700 people across three sites, in Limerick and Cork. In 2024, the multinational announced plans to invest $1bn into the expansion of its manufacturing site in Limerick, bringing total investment in the build to $2bn. Development on the site continues. 

Grifols

Established in Spain in 1909 global healthcare company Grifols has a premises in Dublin, where it offers a range of biopharma products and services. The Dublin location serves as the management center for Grifols Biopharma overseeing the treasury, risk management, supply and demand planning, regulatory, R&D and commercial functions. It is also a hub for labelling, packing, final conditioning, and distribution of finished plasma products. The organisation employs more than 25,000 across the globe, with a presence in more than 30 countries and regions. 

ISPE

Established in 1980 and headquartered in Maryland, the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) is a large non-profit that focuses on scientific, technical and regulatory advancements in the pharmaceutical lifecycle. The organisation has more than 23,000 employees who are involved in building solutions in the development and manufacturing of safe and effective pharmaceutical and biologic medicines and medical delivery devices. Members are dispersed across more than 90 countries around the world. 

Johnson and Johnson Innovative Medicine

Healthcare company Johnson and Johnson Innovative Medicine will also be in attendance at NIBRT’s event. The company employs roughly 140,000 people globally and aims to tackle complex diseases via prevention, treatments and cures. The organisation is particularly focused on the areas of oncology, immunology, cardiopulmonary and neuroscience. Johnson & Johnson’s connection with Ireland began in 1935, with more than 6,000 Irish people employed across its 10 locations in Cork, Dublin, Limerick, Galway and Mayo.

MSD

US multinational pharmaceutical company MSD has a strong presence in Ireland, with facilities in Dublin, Carlow, Cork, Louth, Meath and Tipperary. MSD carries out research and creates medicines and vaccines for some of the world’s most challenging diseases, including cancer, HIV, Ebola, emerging animal diseases and recently Covid-19.

OmniSpirant Therapeutics

Galway’s OmniSpirant Therapeutics was founded in 2016 by Gerry McCauley. It is an early stage therapeutics company working on the development of a novel technology that uses inhaled stem cell exosomes to treat cancer and respiratory diseases. 

Pfizer

Global pharmaceutical company Pfizer is a well-established name worldwide. Currently the organisation employs around 3,700 people across six sites in Ireland. The first Irish location was established in 1969 and since then, Pfizer has invested $8bn. In March Pfizer announced the launch of its 2026 Apprenticeship Programme which is open to both school leavers and those looking for a new career or educational achievement. The programme is available across Pfizer’s sites in Grange Castle, Dublin; Newbridge, Kildare; and Ringaskiddy, Cork.

ProPharma

Established in 2001, North Carolina headquartered ProPharma helps pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies bring new therapies to the market. Their work covers the early development stages, all the way through to the clinical, regulatory approval and commercialisation phases. The organisation has a strong global presence across Europe, the US and the AsiaPacific reason. 

Sanofi

Paris-based pharmaceutical manufacturing company Sanofi produces drugs across a wide range of therapeutic disciplines, treating illnesses such as MS and diabetes. The R&D driven, AI-powered biopharma has a presence in more than 60 countries and currently has two Irish sites in Waterford and Dublin. 

Veolia 

Headquartered in France, Veolia employs more than 700 employees across Ireland. The organisation works with customers to manage scarce resources through their expertise in operations, engineering and technology. The aim is to reduce the environmental impact of public, business and industrial activities. This is achieved via a focus on three key areas, decarbonisation, reducing pollution and maximising resource efficiency.

WuXi Biologics

Headquartered in China, WuXi Biologics is an open-access biologics technology platform that offers end-to-end services in order to accelerate the development and manufacturing of biologics. WuXi employs more than 13,000 employees across China, the US, Ireland, Germany, and Singapore. A global team that includes experts and scientists in biologics R&D and manufacturing, technology innovation, and operations. Located on a 26-hectare site, WuXi has a location midway between Dublin and Belfast, in Dundalk, Louth. The site is one of the largest in the world utilising single-use bioreactor technology.

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