Ireland is the place for booming biopharma, but can be even better

Policy makers need to work on keeping Ireland an attractive place for the industry to soar

Gilead Sciences launched manufacturing operations in Carrigtwohill, which is their largest Irish site. Picture: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision

It is 25 years since Gilead Sciences first established a presence here in Ireland.

There are a whole host of reasons why Ireland has historically succeeded in attracting more than 90 biopharma companies to set up operations here, employing some 45,000 people.

For Gilead, the most compelling reason is the talented and dedicated workforce that we employ across Cork and Dublin, making Ireland our second largest operation in the EU. The experience our staff have gained across Stem and financial sectors is helping Gilead to achieve our global goals.

Ireland’s strong educational offering and wealth of scientific expertise, as well as close working relationships with the higher education sector, means that Gilead views Ireland as an excellent place to be. The pro-innovation and research attitude of policy makers is another reason.

But, for all its advantages as an attractive place for biopharma companies to locate and grow, Ireland also has some challenges that we need to address.

In the biopharma sector, the main issue to address is what is described as the ‘innovation paradox’. This is where, despite the widespread footprint of so many pharma companies, Irish patients are waiting longer than many of their European counterparts to access new and cutting edge medicines, many of which are made here.

Data gathered by the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Alliance shows that the average length of time it takes for patients in Ireland to have access to a new medicine is two years.

When compared to other European countries, Irish patients are waiting longer than their counterparts in countries like Germany, Scotland, Italy, and the Czech Republic.

Another issue has emerged here in recent times in relation to accessing new medicines. We are aware that leading oncologists are able to treat their private patients with new drugs because health insurance companies are willing to provide cover for them.

Whereas, their public patients, sometimes in a different part of the same hospital, cannot be treated with these new medications because they are not yet reimbursed by the HSE. This is a worrying development and drives health inequity. There needs to be more transparency in the process to make new medicines available and greater urgency to deliver these treatments to patients here. The pathway is there: A report by Mazars commissioned by the Department of Health has strong recommendations on how to address these issues. It needs to be implemented without delay.

Ireland also needs to improve when it comes to investing in clinical trials and research. Industry has its part to play here too.

There is no doubt that Ireland has been a great place for Gilead to grow. That’s why the company has invested more than €300m here to date.

We started out with a packaging, test, and release site in Dublin and we quickly launched manufacturing operations in Carrigtwohill, which is now our largest site — and employer — in Ireland.

Today we have four sites across Cork and Dublin, employing more than 550 people directly, and many more indirectly.

Gilead has been at the forefront of pivotal breakthroughs, including the first single-tablet regimen for HIV, an oral cure for hepatitis C and CAR T-cell therapies for certain blood cancers. Our Irish operations are central to what Gilead does globally.

The manufacturing plant produces some 30% of all of Gilead’s solid oral drugs and our distribution centre in Dublin ensures that these drugs make their way to patients right around the world, including in low and middle income countries.

Our global financial solutions centre in Little Island links with 65 countries and is key to product launches, expansion plans, mergers and acquisitions; and the Dublin City centre office is home to our global paediatric centre of excellence, the lead development site for our entire paediatric clinical trial portfolio.

We have over 50 clinical stage programmes ongoing across virology, oncology, and inflammation, where we are trying to help more patients impacted by cancer, blood borne diseases and other illnesses.

Our North Dock office in Dublin began by focusing on developing new paediatric formulations and coordinating paediatric clinical trials and now has expanded to other functions like medical affairs, regulatory affairs and drug safety, with plans for future expansion into adult studies and AI.

But, unless Ireland increases investment in clinical trials and research, and reforms the regulatory processes for such trials, we risk losing our leading position as a key destination for pharma companies globally.

A recent analysis showed that Ireland is attracting fewer industry sponsored clinical trials than some European countries with similar populations and economic performances, with just 19% of clinical trials in a 10-year period being conducted in Ireland, compared to 27% in Finland and 54% in Denmark.

As we look to the next quarter of a century here in Ireland, Gilead believes that collaboration is key. Policy makers, politicians, patients, clinicians and those of us in industry, need to work together to make sure Ireland remains an attractive place for companies to invest and grow, and Irish patients have access to the newest and most innovative medicines, many of which are made here in Ireland by companies like ours.

David Cadogan is vice president manufacturing operations Ireland, Gilead Sciences.