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INDUSTRY FOCUS
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INIRELANDWELIKEOURSTATIS- TICS, AND WHEN IT COMES TO THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUS- TRY,THEREARESOMETHATTRIP OFFTHETONGUEWITHPRIDE. Eight out of the top 10 global pharma-
ceutical companies have a manufactur- ing presence here, and many of those relationships stretch back decades. Meanwhile, recent figures showthat Ire- land is the largest net exporter of phar- maceuticals in the world. There are plenty of reasons why Ire-
land is a choice location for the pharma- chem and biopharma industries – not least our highly educated workforce: of the around 24,300 people employed in the industry in Ireland, approximately one half hold at least a third-level quali- fication. Like any long-term relationship, Ire-
land’s courtship with big pharma has evolved, and part of that maturation has seen many multinationals engage with researchers in Irish universities and in- stitutes, and with our emerging home- grown companies. “Where we are is a very exciting time
in terms of the life sciences sector in Ire- land,” says Prof Anita Maguire, a phar- maceutical chemist and vice-president for research and innovation at Univer- sity College Cork (UCC). “We have come through a very interesting period of growth.” Two decades ago, the life sciences sec-
tor in Irelandwas essentially a bulkman- ufacturing industry, which was largely attracted to Ireland through the favourable tax situation, she continues. “But today,whilewe retain themanufac- turing, we are also contributing to the so-called ‘higher-value’ activities in re- search and development.
16 INNOVATION IRELAND REVIEW Issue 3 Autumn/Winter 2011
“What we have seen over the last 20
years is a shift towards becoming more involved in an R&D type of activity, based largely on the expertise of the peo- ple at the Irish sites. I think the global companies recognise the creativity and capability within the Irish sites and so it made sense to locate some of the higher R&D activities together with the manu- facturing activities.” It’s an important maturation of the re-
lationship, and can help Ireland remain an attractive site for investment. “In each of the Irish siteswe have seen
development of an R&D type activity that can anchor the manufacturing ac- tivity,” says ProfMaguire. “The net effect is that while Ireland might no longer be seen as the cheapest place in the world to manufacture a pharmaceutical, it is without any doubt one of the leading places in the world to scale up – so now when companies are initially scaling up a product, they initially scale it up in Ire-
land.There’s regulatory confidence here and a confidence in people who can de- liver.” The pharma industry has also been
forging links with Irish universities and institutes, where life sciences research has blossomed thanks to State invest- ment through theHigher Education Au- thority and funding agencies such as Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). “The build up of research expertise in
the third-level sector has been a dra- matic shift,” notes Prof Maguire. “That means you have academic research groups now who are globally visible in their own area and are working with leading companies, and they can catal- yse discussions about groundbreaking technologies.” It’s a two-way street in that relationship,
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