West Enterprise Case Studies

Mary and Brian then approached Elan and Enterprise Ireland with a view to leasing the purpose built facility in which they worked and setting up their own company.

There were many attractions to setting up in Monksland including;

• Athlone is renowned as a centre of excellence for the pharmaceutical industry
• Proximity to Athlone Institute of Technology which has an established pharmaceutical faculty
• Large pool of skilled and highly educated people
• Excellent Work Life balance

In March 2003 BioClin was born. Initially 6 people were employed in BioClin and an added bonus for Mary and Brian was that they were able to offer employment to some of their work colleagues who had been made redundant in 2003.

Because of a high focus on compliance and customer care BioClin has expanded rapidly and now employs 25 people in Monksland.  In February 2008 BioClin was acquired by a publicly quoted multinational - Intertek - and moved to a larger purpose built facility in Monksland, a move that was required to allow for planned expansion over the next five years.

Intertek Bioclin now offers pharmaceuticals to over 50 pharmaceutical and drug delivery companies worldwide. Their clients are mainly based in Ireland, England and the USA.

Brian McKenna retired from the business in 2008 and Mary Burke remains as MD.