Matt Moran
Director, BioPharmaChem Ireland
The biopharma sector has never been more buoyant — with exports of over €100 billion, capital investment flows remain extremely robust. Several big pharmaceutical companies have displayed their commitment to investing in the sector in Ireland.
Ireland has clearly retained its attractiveness as a hub for life sciences. There are several reasons for this: our rates of corporation tax are still competitive; our pool of experienced talent is strong; our location within the EU is more advantageous than ever — we are now the largest English-speaking nation within the EU enhancing our appeal to US investors, and our track record with all regulators is excellent.
What does the future hold for the biopharma sector?
There is no doubt that as it continues to grow, the focus on talent needs to be razor-sharp. Government needs to ensure that the third level sector is supported and can generate sufficient graduates to go on and work in the industry.
As digitisation embraces the sector, initiatives such as Pharma 5.0 need to be supported — a new skill set will be required too. Companies must be sustainable in how they operate, including reducing their carbon footprint. For instance, companies such as Eli Lilly and MSD have invested in site solar facilities.
As the sector continues on this growth path, new
subsectors within the industry continue to emerge.
Emerging subsectors and investment from big companies
As the sector continues on this growth path, new subsectors within the industry continue to emerge. A strong Contract Development and Manufacturing (CDMO) sector now exists in the country. This has been driven in the main by the acquisition of older captive API facilities by leading industry contractors.
For example, Stirling Health recently announced the acquisition of the Novartis API facility in Cork. A greenfield investment by Chinese company WuXi can be added to the list of examples. In many ways, this represents a new dawn for the API (active pharma ingredients) sector in Ireland; and as supply chains become less resilient, it will be a major strength for the sector.
Dynamic cluster for Ireland’s life sciences
Finally, we should not forget about the Global Business Solutions (GBS) part of the sector with companies such as Pfizer, Eli Lilly and Novartis employing thousands. These operations were originally established as back-office operations — mainly in financial services — but have now diversified into a variety of areas including the management of clinical trials, patient information, supply chain, etc. They are a prime example of how Irish operations have been able to diversify, and local life sciences companies continue to show real signs of growth.