Ireland Inc is currently preoccupied with the intent of Donald Trump after he takes office in January, most particularly in relation to trade policy and the likelihood or otherwise of tariffs as well as a concerted push to persuade US companies to onshore production back home.
The pharmaceuticals sector is particularly wary as it accounts for the largest share of Irish exports and the US is the single most significant destination for our exports.
But, according to Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, Ireland should have more immediate concerns about the future of what is a critically important sector to the Irish economy.
Mr Jørgensen is chief executive of Novo Nordisk – the company behind “wonder” obesity drugs Wegovy and Ozempic, and historically an industry leader in diabetes care – which is investing heavily to rapidly ramp up supply, including in Ireland. He is also the president of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (Efpia), which represents drug developers across Europe. He is uniquely placed at the crossroads of industry and policymaking.
And he thinks Ireland needs to do more to make Europe a hospitable environment for the pharmaceuticals sector.
In an opinion piece for The Irish Times, Mr Jørgensen said he and his industry peers were uncertain “about whether Ireland is really committed to making medicines its future”.
His comments come in advance of a meeting of health ministers from across the European Union next Tuesday in Brussels to discuss, among other things, European Commission proposals to reduce the period of exclusivity granted to medicine developers by way of regulatory data protection to six years from eight.
The Novo Nordisk boss makes the point that EU’s regulatory exclusivity for biological medicines is already shorter than in the United States. The commission proposals would only widen that gap.
“Given the long-term nature of our sector, we must be confident when we make investment decisions. We need certainty that Ireland and Europe will be the right place to develop, make and use the medicines of tomorrow,” Mr Jørgensen wrote.
If the industry heavyweight is to be believed, it appears the more immediate threat to the future of Ireland’s pharmaceuticals sector could be much closer to home than Mr Trump’s White House.
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