Public see pharma workers as Covid heroes, Ipsen survey finds

82% of pharmaceutical workers feel great pride as the public recognises their sector's role in tackling Covid-19 

Declan Moran, vice-president of API Development & SRT Strategy at Ipsen Ireland.

People working in the pharma sector are in very upbeat humour. They’re in strong demand, with great career prospects and happy with their work-life balance, a new survey has revealed.

A survey of pharma and science workers across Ireland, commissioned by Dublin-based biopharma firm Ipsen Ireland, has also found that workers felt hugely appreciated by the general public since the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Some 82% of pharma workers feel they have greater pride in working within the sector, with the public seeing them as having played an heroic role in tackling Covid-19.

Declan Moran, vice-president of API Development & SRT Strategy at Ipsen Ireland, answered our questions in regards to the company’s survey.

With 77% of survey participants confident of finding new roles elsewhere, is the pharma sector a jobseeker’s market? 

The pharma sector in Ireland is a vibrant one right now. Three in four are considering a new pharma job in the coming months — this is reflective of a variety of factors including post-pandemic career reassessment, competitive employment prospects with a high density of pharma companies in Ireland competing for top talent, as well as a desire among employees to strike positive work-life balance while also maintaining good job satisfaction.

We are seeing that while some employees might want to make a move for monetary gain, or better working flexibility, or indeed closer proximity to a new home since the pandemic — there’s overwhelming agreement that a career in pharma is a fruitful one, with 92% of workers stating that there are strong career progression opportunities in Ireland; and 90% would recommend a job in pharma to students. 

With the life-saving Covid vaccines, sanitisers etc, has heightened public respect for science workers given a new pride to the sector?

The successful delivery of Covid-19 vaccinations by the pharmaceutical sector was truly unprecedented in the history of drug development. The rapid nature of creation, testing and deployment of vaccines across the world, really cast in public spotlight what the pharma sector is capable of; i.e. the ability to innovate and deliver a transformative solution to a pandemic which had upturned and suspended life as we knew it for the best of two years.

As a result of the Covid-19 vaccination strategy, the pharma sector has experienced a positive upturn in public appreciation for its standout innovation, but we are also seeing enhanced pride among pharma employees. Indeed, 82% of pharma workers in Ireland feel they have greater pride working in the industry since the Covid-19 outbreak than they did before it.

An unexpected by-product of the pandemic  is a realisation that the work delivered by those in the pharma sector has a direct and profound impact on patients and their quality of life.

We have certainly seen this ambition ourselves at Ipsen Ireland through our dedicated team of 175 employees who were fully invested in the continued supply of vital medicines for patients with rare and underserved medical conditions throughout the pandemic, and are more committed than ever to support scaled treatment output and continued innovation at our newly upgraded manufacturing site in Blanchardstown.

In what ways do the survey responses match with your own experience?

Personally, I am proud to say that for the past 32 years I have had significant opportunities for lifelong learning and progression within the pharma sector and thus my view aligns with the consensus among pharma workers today that the industry in Ireland allows employees to build successful careers. I’ve had the opportunity to explore different career aspects within pharma, while all the time not straying too far from the reason why I studied Science in the first place — to understand how medicines are made and how they can have a positive impact on society.

I have worked at Ipsen specifically for the last 11 years and progressed through the company in different roles from Manufacturing Director to now being the Vice President of API Development and SRT Strategy. There is great opportunity to climb the ladder and expand your experience in a biopharma company like Ipsen which is smaller in scale but large in ambition to deliver life-enhancing innovation for patients with rare and underserved conditions. For example, 10% of our current workforce actually started out as graduate hires and are now key innovators within our team of 175.

Another similarity between the research findings and our experience as a company at Ipsen, is the fact that 94% of pharma workers feel the skills they’ve gained within the pharma sector in Ireland are transferrable to international markets and thus can help them secure work abroad. At Ipsen, we have a physical presence in 30 countries across the world, and employees from Ireland have vital skills and expertise that is just as relevant in other markets – one in ten of our team has progressed to an international Ipsen role having started in the Irish market.