ARE WE FACING COLD TURKEY?

The sector is under great pressure but diversifying is an option, finds John Hearne

EVERY since Pfizer opened its citric acid plant in Ringaskiddy in 1969, the story of Ireland and the pharmaceutical sector has been one of unprecedented success.

Forty-one years on, we are home to eight of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies in the world. Six of the top 10 blockbuster drugs — that is drugs that sell over €1 billion each year — are made here. Pharmaceutical exports account for 50% of our total exports, the sector employs 24,000 people directly and another 48,000 indirectly. By any reckoning, that’s a pretty serious drug habit.