Irish Group Proposes Huge Bioresearch Center

A group led by Pharmadel, a Cork, Ireland-based health care company, wants to establish a $6 billion pharmaceutical research center in Tralee, Ireland, that it claims will create 4,800 jobs. Alan Dukes, the director of Pharmadel, is the former chairman of Anglo Irish Bank. The former head of Pfizer’s Irish business, Paddy Caffrey, is on Pharmadel’s board of directors. However, no other drug or biotech company is listed as a member of the proposed center. The center’s backers issued a two-sentence statement confirming that the group is negotiating with the government. Sources in the Irish pharmaceutical industry say the announcement took them by surprise.