Chemical industry snapshot
Ireland鈥檚 leading exporter
Chemicals, referred to here as the biopharmachem sector, plays a pivotal role in the Irish economy. It accounts for over 60% of goods exported from the country. It employs more than 42,000 people, and supports a further 42,000 indirect jobs. More than half our workforce are university graduates.
Dominated by pharmaceuticals
Installed base and existing track record.
- The BioPharmaChem cluster in Ireland is constantly evolving and is now perfectly equipped to advance our position as a global leader with more than 90+ companies. We鈥檝e developed a proven track record for next level product development, our resilient supply chains, our connections to strategic markets, and our ambitions for the future. The sector in Ireland includes traditional API and finished product along with Biotech and newly emerging advanced therapeutics such as cell & gene therapy. New subsectors include a sophisticated Global Business Services offering and a growing CDMO cluster. Our indigenous ecosystem is growing with ambitions to become a large player in our sector.
- Ireland has a vibrant CDMO sector, especially in API manufacture. Looking to the future, capable of offering a consolidated supply chain thus de-risking from pandemic shock, geopolitical risk, and sanctions.
- Ireland has an exemplary compliance record with regulatory agencies like the FDA and EMA, who collaborate and work closely with our Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) to achieve trouble-free compliance.
- The sector has an exemplary culture of compliance.
Strong leadership
- Ireland鈥檚 life sciences sector has a global reputation for operational and innovational excellence. The sector continues to evolve, expanding its capabilities to include innovation, digitalisation, and next-generation technologies.
- Ireland鈥檚 industry can avail of skilled talent in existing pharma sites, experienced in quality assurance, quality control, product development, science, and engineering. There鈥檚 also unrestricted access to the EU labour pool of over 240 million people.
- We鈥檝e strong links with universities which provides local talent matched to industry needs.
- Fast-track support for employment permits for skilled international labour has proven to be a competitive advantage.
Culture of collaboration and established ecosystem
- Ireland鈥檚 鈥榗an do鈥� attitude, highly 鈥渁daptable鈥� approach, and willingness to collaborate helps create solutions and solve problems. Multinational companies operating in Ireland have myriad opportunities to collaborate with domestic companies, a network of life sciences sub-supply providers and multiple industry-focused research centres spanning a variety of technologies. This is strengthened by industry鈥檚 ability to influence national policy and mobilise around an agenda.
- Active industry-academic partnership in technology, materials, manufacturing and more
- Growing indigenous base
A supportive political, industrial environment and geographical location
- Uniquely positioned to directly supply North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa daily with onward connections to Asia, Australia, and Latin America, we also have ease of access to Europe and the United Kingdom via Northern Ireland. And, as a small island with rich renewable resources including tidal and wind power, our manufacturing can be positioned as clean with minimal environmental impact.
A platform for global companies
Ten of the top 10 global pharmaceutical companies, many US-based, are located in Ireland. It is the second largest net exporter of complex pharmaceuticals in the EU.
Clustered around Cork and Dublin
Ireland is small and can be viewed as a single industrial policy region. There is a cluster of API plants around Cork 鈥� mostly engaged in high- end chemical synthesis. Dublin has a more diverse industry base including chemical synthesis, drug product formulation and biotechnology based manufacture 鈥� including fermentation, puri铿乧ation and formulation. Recent investments will make Dublin a leading global cluster for biologics (biopharmaceutical) manufacture. There are emerging clusters in the midlands and also in the South East of the country.
An international export platform
Ireland鈥檚 chemical and pharmaceutical industry exported 鈧�106 鈥痓illion of products in 2020, 60% of the country鈥檚 exports.
The sector pays more than 鈧�2 billion of corporation tax each year.
A four-fold rise in jobs, with more to come
Employment in the sector grew from 5,200 in 1988 to 42,000 in 2022, supporting as many again providing services to the sector. Companies invested about 鈧�123 billion in capital projects during 2010-2022, creating more than 3,000 new jobs. Replacement value of the sector is estimated at 鈧�45 billion.
Reshoring of APIs and intermediates into the EU will present an opportunity for the European and Irish API sectors.
How are we doing?
Strengths
- Excellent levels of regulatory compliance (EHS/Quality), reducing manufacturing risk or risk of supply interruptions
- Depth of compliance experience
- Record of continual improvement helps companies bring product to market on time
- Very positive national perceptions of the industry
- Ranked seventh worldwide for competitiveness
- Recognised Global hub for biopharmaceutical manufacture鈥�
- Second largest manufacturer of pharmaceutical ingredient and medic鈥�
- A well-quali铿乪d workforce that has achieved critical mass
- A large and growing research skill base which will signi铿乧antly assist the attraction and retention of high tech FDI now signi铿乧antly increasing indigenous innovation
- 440 world class principal investor (PI)-led research teams
- 2 000 PhD graduates in total at an ongoing average rate of approximately 400
- 1 000 post-doctoral research training places聽
Challenges
- Cost base high 鈥� including labour and energy costs
- Dependent on inwards investment
- Responding to patent cli铿 issues
- Pressure on cost of healthcare
Our contribution to a competitive Europe
The key policy driver nationally is the development of the national research base in order to harness and anchor innovation in the country. This led to the establishment of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), which funds basic and applied research. The Programme for Research in Third Level Research Institutes (PRTLI) has invested in state-of-the- art research infrastructure.
Speci铿乧 industry initiatives
Lighthouse Project 鈥� Factory 5.0
叠笔颁滨鈥�is working an industry consortium comprising API chemical companies and technology companies to incorporate the principles of Digitisation and Sustainability into the sector via the principles of Factory 5.0.
厂厂笔颁-2鈥�鈥� a centre specializing in reach into solid state chemistry and wet synthesis has been established. This 鈧�35 million research centre is part funded by Government (SFI), the industry and the university sector. It is an excellent example of industry-academic-Government collaboration. It will concentrate on near- to- industry research and innovation.
笔惭罢颁鈥�鈥� The Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Technology Centre 鈥� funded by government through Enterprise Ireland will fund applied research conducted by the research community for industry.
狈滨叠搁罢鈥�鈥� The National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training 鈥� will support innovation in the biotech sector 鈥� part funded by industry and Government. A state-of-the-art facility.
颁搁础狈狈鈥�鈥� Research institute established by government specialising in nanotechnology.
Cell and Gene Therapy鈥� Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) supply and manufacture has been identified as an opportunity for the sector in Ireland. Investment in that infrastructure is planned.
Research Policy
The pharmachem sector as demonstrated above is not only 鈥渉igh value鈥� in terms of its expenditure on the Irish economy in terms of salaries but is also a major participant in private sector research and development. Just over 80% of pharma and chemical 铿乺ms engaged in R&D in 2011, behind only medical device 铿乺ms. This is well ahead of other manufacturing sectors including electrical equipment and computers. In this sense the pharma sector is not only a major manufacturing industry but also a very high value manufacturing industry, as R&D jobs tend to be of a better quality than more basic manufacturing.
