Early-stage biotechnology company Valitacell has secured €2.02m in funding through the latest round of Horizon 2020 SME instrument Phase 2.
The funding will be used to the advance and commercialise the company's "ChemStress" technology - which enables biopharmaceutical companies to manufacture life-saving drugs, cheaper, faster and with more regulatory confidence.
The funding will run over two years.
Valitacell was founded in 2014 and is headquartered at the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT).
The company said plans to double its workforce in the next six months with scientists from areas such as biological and chemical engineering, artificial intelligence, machine learning, assay development and biotechnology.
It launched its first product in March 2016 and this is now used by global biopharmaceutical giants including AstraZeneca in Cambridge, GE Healthcare in Sweden, Shire in Austria and Shanghai Medical Device company in China.
Dr Terry McWade, the company's chief executive, said the new funding will enable Valitacell us to accelerate the commercialisation of ChemStress into industry, as well as creating employment opportunities.
"It also contributes to confirming Ireland's role as a leader in the biopharmaceutical space," he added.
