Brian Morrissey
General Manager
Gaelic Laboratories
In December 2025, Gaelic Laboratories, a manufacturer of Beta-Lactam (penicillin) products, acquired Athlone Laboratories, another developer and manufacturer of Beta-Lactams. The deal, which took the form of a straightforward transfer of ownership, means Gaelic Laboratories now owns the Athlone facility’s assets, equipment and selected intellectual property, and assumes responsibility for existing contracts, employees and operational infrastructure – for both companies. We spoke to Brian Morrissey, General Manager of Gaelic Laboratories, about the strategy behind the acquisition, and its impact.
Q: How does this deal reflect current trends in pharma M&A?
Brian: I think that there is a general recognition that the mega-acquisitions that characterised the market a decade ago are now far less frequent. In fact, by 2024, the whole M&A market in pharma was getting a bit sluggish. The fact that 2025 saw an uptick in these deals is good news for the industry, but the recent pharma M&A landscape seems to have been characterized by a mix of strategic acquisitions and more cautious approaches.
That means that M&A experts have been reporting a decline in overall deal values, but this has apparently been balanced by an increase in the number of deals announced – especially in the second half of the year, and especially among companies making strategic investments. I suppose we are a perfect example of that typical late-2025 deal, as Gaelic Laboratories’ acquisition of Athlone is certainly a strategic investment, with a view to leveraging numerous operational synergies to our own strategic ends.
Q: What kind of operational synergies are you planning?
Brian: Both companies are key players in the supply chain for Beta-Lactam antibiotics. This means we should be able to leverage many operational synergies. To begin with, we will be focusing on optimizing manufacturing processes, ensuring a seamless workforce transition, and aligning IT and compliance systems for a smooth operational shift.
Over the longer term, we expect to achieve financial and operational benefits, including revenue growth and cost savings. For example, economies of scale can be achieved by restructuring manufacturing activities across both sights, levering each facility’s individual strengths. Similarly, optimizing manufacturing processes across the two sites should reduce costs and enhance efficiency. For specific examples, we can look at Athlone Laboratories’ low humidity manufacturing capability, which is aligned with our pipeline for a Co-amoxiclav range, currently under regulatory submission. Meanwhile, Gaelic Laboratories has been fully equipped with state-of-the art manufacturing and laboratory apparatus, including a brand-new blister-packaging machine. We can confidently say that the two companies each bring something to the table, enhancing combined capabilities and bringing added value.
These advantages will enable both companies to develop their product offerings while generating cost savings, which facilitate increased profit margins for our shareholders, and still enable competitive pricing for customers.
Q: Athlone Laboratories is older and bigger than Gaelic Laboratories – does that make Gaelic’s acquisition of Athlone unexpected?
Brian: Not at all. It’s not unusual for smaller companies to acquire bigger ones. In fact, it is a common strategy to expand market presence and increase competitiveness. Smaller companies often acquire larger firms to gain access to valuable assets, diversify their revenue streams, and strengthen their competitive position. The acquisition aligns with Gaelic Laboratories’ long-term vision to establish itself as a leader in the pharma industry, particularly in the production and distribution of Beta-Lactam generic medicines.
Owning the two separate brands will also allow us to target specific markets or segments more effectively, and it can help enhance differentiation, allowing us to offer unique formulations, services or other offerings that might not fit under just one brand name. Furthermore, as a CMO, we obviously have a lot of important relationships with customers and partners that might not feel comfortable about competitor products being made by the same CMO, so having an alternative, formally separate company that can provide high-quality services in those situations is a great advantage.
Q: How overlapping are the core services of both companies?
Brian: Both Gaelic Laboratories and Athlone Laboratories offer a wide range of analytical testing services, as well as scalable solutions for the production of high-quality oral dose Beta-Lactam products, all from operations based in Ireland. The combined product range covers Amoxicillin capsules, oral suspension and sachets, Flucloxacillin capsules and oral suspension, Ampicillin capsules, Phenoxmethyl Penicillin tablets, and Co-amoxiclav tablets and suspensions. So there’s great overlap in the products produced, and some complementary differences in the specialist equipment at each site – like the low humidity manufacturing capability at Athlone, and the brand-new blister-packaging machine at Gaelic, that we mentioned earlier.
I suppose that, in this regard, what I am most excited about is the scale of production that the acquisition has created. Between them, the two companies have the combined capacity to produce 1.2 billion capsules per annum, or 1 billion film-coated tablets. That kind of manufacturing scale should go a long way to help ensuring patients continue to have access to enough of these crucial medicines, throughout the year, every year.
Q: It has been widely commented that the deal puts Ireland’s two Beta-Lactam manufacturers under one ownership – how important is that?
Brian: The regulators clearly didn’t see this as an insurmountable issue. The two companies are far enough apart geographically (about 130 miles) to provide reassurance about potential crisis containment, and if you consider Ireland’s antibiotic sector as a whole, we represent just one part of that.
We are fortunate to be situated in Ireland, with the country’s sensible, business-friendly climate that actively supports the pharma industry. Thanks to this approach, Ireland is now a global hub for pharma manufacturing, with all ten of the world’s top ten pharma companies making it a home, and a growing CMO cluster of which we are proud to be a member.
Between them, Gaelic Laboratories and Athlone Laboratories employ more than 120 people – most of them in highly-skilled jobs. We are determined to retain the experience and expertise that has built up at both sites over the years, while welcoming more young people into the industry as we grow further and expand in the future.
Q: What’s next in the Gaelic Laboratories story?
Brian: Since our inauguration 4 years ago, we have been on a mission to be a significant player in the generic pharmaceutical industry within Europe and the MENA regions through the manufacture and commercialisation of our own Beta-Lactam products, as well as the provision of contract manufacturing services for our customers and partners. We can now expand that goal to include Athlone Laboratories, which will enable us to access markets in parts of the world where we previously had no footprint.
The Gaelic Laboratories site in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary is on an 11-acre plot, including four acres of Greenfield for ongoing expansion, so this may be where we turn our attention next, but it hasn’t been decided for sure. You’ll need to stay posted for updates!
Whatever the future brings, I am confident that my team, as well as our Executive Committee, will ensure the best outcomes for the companies and their customers. Through our investors, we are in a rare position of having enough capital to ensure our facilities have the latest equipment, running optimal processes, for highest quality products and services. I have no doubt that wherever our story leads, this new partnership will be a great success.