Alan Healy: Ireland goes all-in on weight-loss drugs

Ireland's economic diversification is challenged as massive weight-loss drug exports cement its role as a global pharma hub

Eli Lilly and its plant in Kinsale dominate production of key ingredients for GLP-1 type drugs.

The warnings about Ireland's over-concentration on tech and pharma have been well aired in recent years, but fresh export data shows attempts to truly diversify our economy will continually be countered by the increasing demand for weight-loss drugs.

Their global success and outsized impact on the Irish economy put them in the blockbuster drug league and follow other similar drug giants which were produced here in Ireland. In previous decades, Pfizer and Ireland was synomous with hugely popular global brands like Viagra and the statin Lipitor, both of which were manufactured in Cork.