Dunboyne, Co. Meath, 9 November 2018 - Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPG), the global biotechnology leader in rare diseases, today hosts its official site dedication event at its new state of-the-art biologics facility in Dunboyne. The event is being held to celebrate the significant milestones achieved in the construction of the new facility.

Shire Dunboyne will welcome Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection and local TD, Regina Doherty and Minister of State for European Affairs and local TD Helen McEntee to the event which will also be attended by Shire Global Leaders, the IDA, local county councillors, members of Meath County Council, external business partners supporting the Dunboyne facility as well as invited guests from the local community.

Development of the 120-acre site has been underway since November 2017. Currently there are over 1000 people supporting the construction activities on site, and significant progress has been made in the last 12 months. Shire currently has 60 people employed in Dunboyne and the site is on track to be operational by 2020.

Approximately 400 people will be employed at the facility when it is at full capacity. Today, recruitment is underway across multiple functional areas including manufacturing, quality assurance, quality control, engineering, finance, supply chain, automation, human resources and environmental health and safety.

The $400 million investment into the new biotech manufacturing facility will help Shire to meet the rapidly growing demand for its innovative medicines for people with rare diseases. The state-of-the-art facility will adopt single-use technology, will be highly automated and will also be the European Quality Control Hub for Shire’s biologics portfolio.

Susan Hynes, Site Lead for Shire Dunboyne, said, “Today’s site dedication event is a celebration of the critical milestones that we have reached in just 12 months at our new biologics manufacturing facility here in Dunboyne. At Shire, we are championing people with rare diseases every step of the way. Our ambition is a bold but simple one - to help people with rare diseases live better lives. We are immensely proud to be building our new facility in Co. Meath and that the pioneering medicines we produce here will help more patients around the world who need our innovative medicines. That drives us here at Dunboyne to achieve these critical milestones on behalf of our patients. We have received a great welcome from the local community and look forward to welcoming more people into our organisation as we continue to build our team for the future.”

Speaking at the event, Regina Doherty, local TD and Minister for Employment Affairs, commented, “I am delighted to welcome this fantastic news for jobs and the local economy here in Meath. The $400m being invested in a new state of the art facility in Dunboyne is an incredible vote of confidence in this county and reflects what will be a long-term benefit for the community. A hi-tech facility like this provides the type of jobs for the future which will sustain local employment, develop a skilled local workforce and generate economic activity within the local economy which will have a knock-on effect on other local businesses.”

Speaking at the event, Helen McEntee, Local TD and Minister of State for European Affairs, commented, “Today’s event is a timely reminder of Shire’s commitment to Dunboyne and to County Meath. Shire’s investment in Meath totalling almost $400 million, and when the site is complete and fully operational it will employ 400 people. This shows that the Action Plan for Jobs is delivering for Meath and the North-East Region as a whole.

“The progress of this development that we can see is a vote of confidence in the local workforce and in the town of Dunboyne. Meath has shown, that by securing an investment like this, that we are competing on a global basis and winning jobs for local communities.”