Merck & Co. Acquires Vaccine Site in Ireland from WuXi
As part of its long-term plans in the country, US drugmaker Merck & Co., operating as MSD outside of North America, has acquired WuXi Biologics’ site in Dundalk, Ireland, for about $500 million. The deal was announced through Ireland’s Foreign Direct Investment Agency (IDA) and MSD’s Ireland unit.
With the newly acquired site, MSD said that it is bringing its footprint to eight locations in Ireland with over 3,000 employees across the country. MSD and WuXi Biologics are now to begin a handover process which the companies aim to complete in the first half of 2025.
The newly acquired Dundalk site is a 15,520-square-meter, three-story vaccine manufacturing facility featuring drug substance manufacturing, drug product manufacturing, and quality control labs for the supply of vaccine products for the global market, currently employing approximately 200 professionals on site.
New Jersey, US-headquartered MSD was a natural buyer of the facility as it was reported to be WuXi Biologics' sole customer at the Dundalk site, with a 20-year contract for vaccine production worth $150 million annually.
The Financial Times had reported in October 2024 that WuXi and WuXi AppTec were planning to sell some of their operations, ahead of potential US legislation that would restrict business for Chinese biotechnology companies.
The US House of Representatives passed the Biosecure Act in September last year, which would ban federal contracts with targeted firms and their business partners and explicitly names WuXi.
