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Biopharma

  • Be part of an established ecosystem for pharmaceutical and biopharma activity, combining technology, talent and research

  • We offer regulatory stability, sub-supply capability, a multicultural workforce and collaboration opportunities with industry partners

Source the skills you need to make your investment in Ireland a success

Connect with us

Source the skills you need to make your investment in Ireland a success

Connect with us
Factory Building

A Global Pharma Leader

Ireland’s life sciences sector has a global reputation for operational and innovational excellence. Leading industry names including Novartis, AbbVie, Janssen, Pfizer, Sanofi, Lilly, AstraZeneca, MSD, Bristol Myers Squibb and Takeda have significant operations here.

  • 90+ pharmaceutical companies operate in Ireland
  • 45,000 people employed in IDA client companies
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Geographic Positioning

Leveraging its strong base of pharmaceutical companies in Ireland, which is the world’s third-largest exporter of pharmaceuticals according to the UN International Trade Statistics database. The Biopharma and Medtech sectors are continuously evolving, expanding its capabilities to include innovation, digitalisation and next-generation technologies

  • €116+ billion annual exports
  • Third largest exporter of pharmaceuticals globally
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Collaboration Opportunities

Multinational pharmaceutical companies operating in Ireland can find numerous opportunities for collaboration with domestic companies, a network of life sciences sub-supply providers, and multiple industry-focused research centers spanning a variety of technologies.

  • Facilitated sharing of best practice between companies
  • Active industry-academic partnership in technology, materials, manufacturing and more
Ranking Winner

Strength in Compliance

Pharmaceutical companies in Ireland benefit from the country's exemplary compliance record with regulatory agencies like the FDA and EMA. These agencies collaborate closely with our Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) to ensure trouble-free compliance.

  • 50 FDA-approved pharma and biopharma plants
  • Fair oversight of regulated companies and a culture of excellence in compliance
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World-Class Talent

Ireland’s industry can avail of skilled talent in existing pharma sites, experienced in quality assurance, quality control, product development, science and engineering. There’s also unrestricted access to the EU labour pool of over 240 million people.

  • Strong links with universities provide local talent matched to industry needs
  • Fast-track support for employment permits for skilled international labour

We are committed to Ireland and will work with all local partners to build this state-of-art next generation biomanufacturing facility as a showcase to the global biotech community

See similar companies in Ireland

Abbvie
WuXi Biologics
MSD
Merck
Zoetis
West
Lilly
Johnson
Regeneron
Pfizer
Baxter
Janssen
GE Healthcare
Novartis
Bristol Myers Squibb
Sanofi
Gilead
Takeda

Success Stories: Hear from leaders calling Ireland home

A proven path

See all Success Stories
Vanta
Diligent
Zendesk
Citco
Novartis
Johnson Controls
Vanta is a startup focused on automating cybersecurity compliance

Vanta is a startup focused on automating cybersecurity compliance

We have a talent pool that allows us to serve a large population in a very effective way, both with language and specialisation skills like sales or customer success.

Educated workforce enables rapid ramp-up for software company

Educated workforce enables rapid ramp-up for software company

In other jurisdictions that we looked at, they literally wanted you to land and sign the deal. Whereas the IDA were very powerful in thinking about the next wave of growth beyond the first 200 people, and what type of skills we might look for then. It genuinely does feel like a partnership rather than a one-and-done, and the after-sales experience is excellent too.

Dublin site is a regional hub for product development

Dublin site is a regional hub for product development

Dublin is such a hub for big tech companies that you might think ‘if we come to Dublin, we’re going to be competing with all of them, we won't be able to get good staff’. But I think the opposite is true. Because we’ve got such a base of well recognised brands in Dublin, that actually brings qualified people from all over Europe here.

IDA Ireland support key to wide-ranging R&D and training initiatives

IDA Ireland support key to wide-ranging R&D and training initiatives

A lot of the leadership in Ireland also hold senior global positions, so we consider Ireland to be a strategic office and we’ve got representation across most business lines in the organisation sitting in Ireland.

Pharma giant’s 60-year history of investing in Ireland

Pharma giant’s 60-year history of investing in Ireland

The NGSC in Dublin is Novartis’s leading digital science centre globally. This is due to the fact that there is such a large amount of digital talent and a significant tech ecosystem in Ireland... We have an innovative team of data scientists and data managers who are harnessing the power of digital to revolutionise the way that we manage disease and ultimately get our medicines to patients faster.

In 2022, the HQ opened a new R&D facility focused on sustainable technologies

In 2022, the HQ opened a new R&D facility focused on sustainable technologies

I am proud of how Johnson Controls is leading the way in sustainable innovation and I am particularly proud of how OpenBlue solutions and services are transforming buildings to help businesses, communities and governments to reach their net zero goals.

Find your European home

Find your European home