A global in vitro diagnostics (IVD) manufacturing organisation, Fortress Diagnostics has announced they are investing over £8m in new Northern Ireland headquarters to enable more patients to receive better healthcare globally.
In vitro diagnostics are tests done on samples such as blood or tissue that have been taken from the human body. These tests can then help detect diseases or other conditions, and can be used to monitor a person's overall health to help cure, treat, or prevent diseases.
Located in Antrim Technology Park, the new custom-built 30,000 sq. ft. facility is said to be a centre for research & development (R&D), manufacturing and will support the delivery of over 1,000 diagnostic testing products to more than 100 international markets.
Due to open in early 2020, the new facility will host cutting edge laboratories utilising the latest technology for medical diagnostics.
The firm states that significant investments have been made in freeze drying, specialist manufacturing and automation in order to create new product lines, develop new markets and increase manufacturing efficiency.
The investment will also see the company double its headcount over the next three years, creating new roles across a wide range of functions including Scientific Research & Development, Production and Commercial Operations.
Morteza Afrasiabi, Managing Director of Fortress Diagnostics said: “Over the past 19 years, our highly skilled scientific team has focused on researching, developing and manufacturing innovative quality diagnostic kits to enable healthcare practitioners across the globe to accurately diagnose often life-changing conditions.
"Due to our continued success we have now outgrown our current facility and this expansion will allow us to increase our manufacturing capacity to meet a significant increase in customer demand.
"The investment in new technologies will also provide our R&D team with the opportunity to place a strong focus on new product development and the optimisation of our existing tests in order to offer the best quality products on the market.”
