Pharmaceutical sector 'faces stiff competition'

THE pharmaceutical industry's golden age is over and companies face a harsher climate in the future, the body representing the industry warned yesterday.

PharmaChemical Ireland, which is part of employers' group IBEC, said Ireland continued to rank among the top locations in the world for the manufacture of drugs and chemicals but would face increasingly stiff competition from Singapore, India and China.

"The jewel in the crown of the Irish economy, currently worth €35.7 billion in exports and employing 24,000 people, will need careful nurturing in the future otherwise we may see much of its shine fading," said PharmaChemical Ireland director Matt Moran.