Continued investment key to our success as a life sciences hotspot

If you build it they will come. In Ireland’s case what we have built is a globally enviable infrastructure that supports life sciences innovation and manufacturing at the highest level.

“Ireland is considered an attractive and productive location for life sciences due to a continuity of policy over 50 years. This has included a multifaceted package of measures which includes a highly educated and flexible workforce, ease of access to both the US and the EU, open international trade policy, a competitive business and taxation environment within international norms, and an ecosystem of collaborative research,” says Michael O’Connell, country director for Biogen and president of the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA).

Although plenty of other countries compete for life sciences investment, Ireland has many advantages over them, says Colin Kavanagh, partner at Arthur Cox.

“When investors look at the existing industry here they see many of their competitors located here – some for decades – and continuing to invest here,” says Kavanagh. “That gives them confidence and encourages a deeper look, where they will find a skilled workforce and experienced executives and advisers; Government departments that are very supportive of and familiar with the needs of the industry; a strong and transparent regulator, closely linked with the European Medicines Agency; and an English-speaking Eurozone country.”

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Ireland has developed a flexible and well-educated pharmaceutical workforce which constantly adapts to changing industry needs, O’Connell points out.

“For example, we have invested in education programmes that enable the retraining of parts of the workforce involved in small-molecule manufacturing to support new biologic manufacturing processes,” he says. “We have also upskilled in emerging technologies such as cell and gene therapies, mRNA and now AI.”

The expansion of the cell and gene therapy manufacturing training at Ireland’s National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) is an example of such programmes.

“The adaptation and upskilling of the existing Irish talent pool attracts manufacturers to Ireland, contributing to our strong global presence as a hotspot for life sciences,” says O’Connell.

There are more than 92,000 people employed across 250 IDA Ireland-supported client companies in the life sciences sector, says Rachel Shelly, head of life sciences and food, as well as talent, transformation and innovation with the IDA. She cites factors such as a well-established and collaborative research, development and innovation system that supports companies with access to facilities, expertise and financial supports, as well as a solid track record and performance at the heart of global supply chains.

“Ireland remains committed to continued growth and development of what has become a thriving life sciences sector, and is well positioned for future growth amongst companies looking to locate and expand their global operations in Ireland,” says Shelly.

Similarly, Ireland’s medical device sector is “a fantastic success story”, says Emer Sherry, senior executive with the Irish Medtech Association.

“Ireland is now one of the top five global medtech hubs, with 17 of the top 20 global medtech companies based here, many with centres of excellence in innovation,” she says.

There are more than 450 medtech companies with Irish bases, of which 60 per cent are indigenous companies and 80 per cent start-ups or SMEs. Sherry sees a key advantage of the Irish ecosystem as being its collaborative and supportive business environment.

“I see this every day in the Irish Medtech Association, where start-ups, SMEs and multinationals share insights, best practice and promote a positive policy environment,” she adds.

The successful “twin transition” of digitalisation and decarbonisation will be key to the future success and competitiveness of the sector, Shelly says.

“Initiatives such as the recent opening of Digital Manufacturing Ireland in Limerick and recent investment of €21 million to expand NIBRT serve to further support in this regard,” she adds.

Sherry agrees, pointing out that as digital health becomes prominent, healthcare will increasingly involve connected devices and combined drug-device-digital products.

“To sustain progress, a government-led national strategy is crucial,” she says, adding that such strategy should outline the necessary skills, infrastructure and investments for the next phase of Ireland’s medtech journey.

“Ireland, being home to leading pharma, medtech and tech companies, is poised to capitalise on the projected $1.5 trillion digital health market by 2030 – but only with the right policies in place.”

Continued investment in Ireland is key to our success as a hotspot for life sciences, O’Connell says.

“While recent investments in biopharmaceutical production sites across the country are based, in part, on an already-established performance culture built over decades, this performance has also been backed by stable Government policy, with IDA Ireland leading the effort to attract foreign direct investment,” she adds. “It is essential that this continues.”

Kavanagh also emphasises the need for existing policy to remain stable, as “that stability creates confidence and encourages further investment”. He notes systemic weaknesses that may cause problems, however; inflation, housing and health budgets, for example.

“Innovation, technological expertise, creativity and a commitment to delivering for our customers and patients are all characteristics that we believe have driven our success here at Icon,” says the chief financial officer of the clinical research organisation, Brendan Brennan.

“We’ve seen an abundance of these characteristics here in Ireland. At Icon, as an Irish clinical research organisation partnering with biopharma companies worldwide, one of the things that we consistently hear from our customers is how they appreciate our approach to working, in addition to our scientific and technical expertise.”

According to Brennan, Ireland’s strong culture of partnership and collaboration, and commitment to driving progress in this way, is a highly valued commodity, particularly as the life sciences industry gravitates towards strategic partnership models.

“Working collaboratively to achieve common goals is something I think we are particularly good at here in Ireland, and this characteristic is an additional factor in terms of Ireland’s attractiveness as a location.”

According to the CSO, Ireland has the highest number of Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) graduates per capita in the EU. Ensuring our pipeline of talented Stem graduates remains robust will be critical in driving future success, Brennan says.

“Talent really is the driving force of the industry. It is important for all of us with a vested interest to play our roles,” he adds. “Collaboration between industry and academia will be hugely important to help build that talent pipeline.”

Icon has recently introduced a scholarship programme to provide students from underrepresented groups with increased opportunities to access third-level education in Stem disciplines.