About
Since its inception in 2013, PMTC has established itself as a progressive, agile, industry-relevant applied research and innovation centre. We focus on delivering solutions using advanced technology and analytics which address contemporary manufacturing issues impacting on efficiency and sustainability for the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector.
Situated within the Bernal Institute at the University of Limerick PMTC is hosted in a world class facility, comprised of an experienced research team of senior and post-doctoral level researchers with extensive R&D and direct industry experience. In addition to the core research team, PMTC is affiliated with leading RPO's nationally thus leveraging the best research talent available.
Funded by Enterprise Ireland in partnership with IDA Ireland PMTC is part of a network of Technology Centers nationally each running industry led research and innovation programmes which collectively contribute significantly to supporting Irish companies to be successful, grow their business, create jobs and deliver significant wider economic impact.
PMTC is governed by a Centre Steering Committee (CSC), which meets on a quarterly basis. The composition of the includes an independent chairperson, range of industry members and academics. The role of the CSC is to help set the direction and scope of the research programme and to ensure its relevance and related impact to industry.
Our Mission
Our Mission is to be the leading national industry led applied research Centre providing advanced technology solutions for the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector.

Our Vision
Our vision is to help advance the pharmaceutical industry in Ireland through research excellence delivering high impact results which increase the efficiency, sustainability and competitiveness of Irish pharmaceutical manufacturing operations supporting delivery of high quality, life changing medicines to patients globally.
Link to the iPharMA Multinational Manufacturers Survey
Link to the iPharma SME Survey
Our Approach
The role of our industry members is pivotal to the success of PMTC. Through its collaborative research model, PMTC effectively co-creates innovative solutions and advanced methodologies that solve current industry challenges for pharmaceutical manufacturing in the following areas:
- Pharmaceutical plant cleaning
- Process control and optimisation
- Data analytics and utilisation.
Our research outputs have improved efficiencies across pharmaceutical plant cleaning and also include process innovations across a range of unit operations for both drug substance and drug product.
We continuously support company-to-company engagement and collaboration across the Irish pharmaceutical manufacturing sector as a whole, by hosting communities of practice on key technical topics where SMEs and MNCs alike can exchange knowledge and help establish best practices.
Our annual Knowledge Day is a key networking event which provides a platform for researchers to disseminate their work and for indigenous SMEs to exhibit new technologies to pharmaceutical client companies.
Examples of research areas of focus to date include
- Science of pharmaceutical plant cleaning (between products and within campaigns) to improve effectiveness of cleaning and optimize cycle times and use of materials
- Application of new analytical approaches and technologies (at line/in line) to reduce waiting times during processes and at final testing
- Characterisation of powder properties as they can apply to issues of powder blending and flow thus enabling tighter control of process performance and ensuring more consistent and repeatable outputs
- Modelling of powders and liquids to enhance pharmaceutical process understanding and control
“For fast prototype the PMTC will continue to offer a low risk space to implement new technologies in collaboration with other industry members and a knowledgeable academic team that utilises proven routes to commercial solutions”.
Careers
We are searching for innovative and driven people to make a difference.
At PMTC we are committed to delivering leading edge applied research solutions to contemporary pharmaceutical manufacturing challenges and believe that the strongest teams are built on diversity, innovation and the drive to make a positive impact, in a work environment where people feel welcomed, respected and valued.
Acting as the bridge between industry and academia, we are always looking for talented individuals to drive innovation and change in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry in Ireland.
If you recognize yourself in these values, please get in touch.