Enterprise Ireland funds €2.3bn pharma network

ENTERPRISE Ireland is to fund a massive €2.3 billion research network for the Irish pharmaceutical network, it was announced yesterday.

The aim of the network is to deliver more efficient, reliable and cheaper processes for manufacturing biopharmaceutical medicines. The pharmaceutical industry has been a major contributor to the growth of the Irish economy in recent years.

Ireland is the largest net exporter of pharmaceuticals in the world. Last year, net exports topped €16.7 billion.

Speaking at the announcement of the fund, Science Minister Conor Lenihan said the fund represented a “milestone” in Ireland’s smart economy.

There are 15 companies eight Irish – involved in the project. The research team is led by UCD with support from Dublin City University, the National Institute of Bioprocessing Research and Training and the Tyndall National Institute in UCC.

ABB Ireland, which employs more than 450 people in Ireland, will support the academic research team with analytical and commercial aspects of the research programme.

Enterprise Ireland has been working with the companies to identify specific developments required to improve the production systems used to manufacture these drugs. The application of these developments will allow precise quality control in manufacturing.

This will be an advance on traditional methods which use laboratory analysis to measure quality after the drug has been manufactured – an inefficient and expensive process with high levels of waste and unnecessary energy consumption.

Dr Keith O’Neill, Enterprise Ireland’s director of lifescience commercialisation, said newer technologies would put Ireland at the cutting edge of the industry.