IDA Ireland and PharmaChemical Ireland host Seminar in Cork

The future of pharmaceutical research and manufacturing will increasingly be influenced by biotechnology in the future, therefore Ireland needs to become one of the world’s leading biotech hubs for the 21st century.

Matt Moran, Director of PharmaChemical Ireland

25/04/2007
IDA

“The outlook for Ireland in terms of winning further advanced manufacturing and R&D investment in this sector is very promising” – Sean Dorgan, CEO, IDA Ireland

IDA Ireland in association with PharmaChemical Ireland today (Wednesday 25th April 2007) hosted a seminar for IDA-supported multinational companies on ‘The Future Direction of the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industries in Ireland’ at the Sheraton Hotel, Fota Island, Cork.
Sean Dorgan, CEO, IDA Ireland, said “The pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries are extremely important for Ireland and have experienced significant growth here in recent years. Just today, Minister Micheál Martin TD announced a further strategic R&D investment by Wyeth Biotech at its €1.8 billion Biopharma Campus at Grange Castle, Dublin. This investment follows a number of significant investment decisions by global companies including Amgen, Centocor, GlaxoSmithKline, and Pfizer.”

Today’s seminar was the latest in a series involving the pharmaceutical industry, IDA and educational and research institutes to explore the opportunities for further development by the sector here. The seminar heard of the successful experience of a number of companies, particularly in research and development and using new business models. The event was attended by all of the major companies in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries in Ireland.

Matt Moran, Director of PharmaChemical Ireland, said “In our view, it is now vital that the PharmaChemical Sector leverages its manufacturing base here. This can be done by companies investing in R&D. It is important that they focus on areas close to manufacturing. I am very heartened by recent investments by Merck Sharp and Dohme, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb in this area. The future of pharmaceutical research and manufacturing will increasingly be influenced by biotechnology in the future, therefore Ireland needs to become one of the world’s leading biotech hubs for the 21st century. The recent investments in this area by Wyeth, Centocor, Eli Lilly and Amgen indicate to me that Ireland is well on its way to achieving this goal.”

Other initiatives underway for these industries include a pre-approved biopharma campus in Oranmore, Co. Galway, which is a construction-ready site for biopharmaceutical manufacturing and research – a similar development is being planned for Dundalk, Co Louth – and the establishment of the National Institute of Bioprocessing Research & Training (NIBRT) at University College Dublin. Supported by IDA Ireland, NIBRT is Ireland’s first dedicated research and training facility for the biotechnology industry and involves third-level academic and industry collaboration.
The importance of Ireland in the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries is highlighted by the outstanding successes the country has achieved -

• Number 1 location in Europe for Life Sciences projects: 48% market share in 2004
• 9 of the top 10 Global Pharma companies have operations in Ireland
• 6 of the top 10 global drugs are made in Ireland
• Pharmaceutical Exports of €40 billion
• 40,000 employed in Life Sciences including over 19,000 in Pharmaceuticals
• 33 FDA approved plants

For further information please contact –
IDA Ireland - Ruth Croke, Press & PR Manager. Tel: 087 4195051