About this Sector

Overview

One of Ireland’s greatest success stories and a major driver of the national economy, over 90 biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical and chemical companies make up the Irish BioPharmaChem industry, including eight of the world’s top 10 Biopharma companies.  

With activities centred around manufacturing and services, the sector employs over 80,000 people directly and indirectly, has an export value of over €116 billion annually, and makes up some 20% of the Irish GDP. 

Ireland’s biopharmaceutical industry is a global hub of innovation and manufacturing excellence that has evolved into a cohesive research and innovation ecosystem involving close collaboration between researchers in higher education institutions, private enterprise, and Government.  

Important opportunities for the sector here include a move up the value chain towards drug discovery and development, including digital therapeutics and leveraging Ireland’s significant research capabilities in biotechnologies, microbiome science, advanced materials, drug delivery, data analytics and modelling. 

Companies are adopting cleaner technologies, energy-efficient practices, and seeking sustainable alternatives, with many fostering innovation and operational efficiency to reduce cost. Responsible Care is the sector’s commitment to sustainability. It aims to continuously improve the biopharmaceutical and chemical industry’s safety and sustainability performance in the products manufactured and also in the local communities in which BioPharmaChem companies operate.  

Furthermore, companies are using digital technologies to increase efficiency and allow continuous improvement. Industry 5.0 can help drive this twin transition, and it involves the interpretation of Industry 4.0 Technologies through a human-centric lens. This lends to greater resilience, particularly of supply chains and the manufacture of strategically important goods.

Manufacturing

Biopharma manufacturing can be divided into Small Molecule (synthetics) and Biologics (large molecule). Whilst traditional Small Molecule manufacturing has continued to grow significantly in recent years and there has been a rapid increase in the growth of biologic therapies, with employment in this subsector having increased by 98% since 2016.

Furthermore, Advanced Therapeutic Medicinal Products (ATMPs) or Cell and Gene Therapies (CGTs) are emerging as an important area of future growth.

Services

Ireland is increasingly becoming an important global hub in the provision of services in Biopharma, with employment growth in services subsectors growing more rapidly in recent years. Services subsectors include Global Business Services, Biopharma Services and Specialty Pharma Services.

Sector Snapshot 

Exports 

• The industry exports over €116 billion worth of products annually making pharmaceutical goods the most exported products in Ireland. 

• According to the UN International Trade Statistics database, Ireland is the world’s third largest exporter of pharmaceuticals  

• 12 of the world’s top-selling medicines are manufactured in Ireland 

• Goods produced in Ireland accounts for 5% of global pharmaceuticals production and 67% of the total goods export from Ireland 

• Positioned as the No.2 exporter of complex pharmaceutical goods and medicines in Europe 

Employment 

• Directly employing around 50,000 highly skilled individuals—a number that has grown by 61% since 2016. 

• 38,000 people are employed in manufacturing, of which over 18,000 employed in Biologics and more than 18,000 employed in Small Molecule manufacture. 

• 12,000 individuals are employed in services subsectors, a number which has increased 84% since 2016. 

• Approximately 25% of all PhD researchers are currently employed in the Irish industry 

Investment 

• Biopharma Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Ireland has exceeded €10bn over the last decade.

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