Ibec’s Life Science and Health Technology Sectors Welcome the National Life Science Strategy for Ireland
BioPharmaChem Ireland and Irish Medtech, the Ibec groups that represent these sectors, welcome the new National Life Science Strategy for Ireland, under the Programme for Government.
Ireland is home to over 700 biopharma, medtech, and digital health companies employing more than 102,000 people and exporting goods worth €116 billion annually. These thriving sectors includes 19 of the top 20 global pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies are based in Ireland and 18 of the world’s top 25 medtech companies and is supported by advanced manufacturing and cutting-edge R&D capabilities.
Ibec Head of Sectors, and Director at BioPharmaChem Ireland, Dr Sinead Keogh said: “One of the country’s most notable success stories is the life sciences industry with the world’s top companies investing heavily here and creating jobs alongside homegrown businesses driving disruptive innovation. The biopharmachem sectors directly employ 50,000 people with a further 21,000 people expected over the next three years. To sustain our hard-won competitiveness, we must ensure collaboration across government, industry, and research to deliver the right policies and foster a business environment that empowers cutting-edge innovation. The National Life Sciences Strategy will help ensure coordination and prioritisation of state resources as well as fit for purpose regulation. The strategy will also support scaling of local enterprises, attract global investment, and drive health system improvements, creating high-value jobs and economic growth in the process.”
Irish Medtech Association Director, Dr Eoghan O’Faolain said: “Medtech is ubiquitous as this technology is used for the preventing, diagnosing, and treating illness.
Ireland is the greatest employer of medtech professionals, per capita, in Europe with more than 48,000 people working across 450 companies in the sector, with employment growth forecast to reach 56,000 by 2028. The convergence of traditional health business with technology and data organisations has formed a new ecosystem that is able to facilitate growth and create opportunities for new entrants to reinvent traditional operating models.
To adapt to this shift and the associated transformative technologies, we must ensure Ireland’s responds with a best-in-class business environment that fosters strategic research, development, and investment.”
Ibec’s ‘Where Digital Health Thrives’ campaign underscores the significance of digital health as a key driver of the country's life sciences growth, with over 200 organisations in this space alone. The campaign highlights Ireland’s potential to lead in emerging areas like advanced therapeutics, Pharma 5.0, and digital health. The new National Life Science Strategy aligns with this vision, supporting the growth of indigenous digital health businesses and helping to scale the sector by fostering investment through initiatives led by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland
The National Life Sciences Strategy presents an important opportunity for Ireland to consolidate its strengths as a global leader in health innovation by addressing industry needs, by fostering collaboration, and unlocking future opportunities that will benefit the economy, workforce, and patients worldwide. Industry looks forward to being part of this important conversation.
