Buoyant tax revenues demonstrate the resilience of the Irish economy during the pandemic. As some of the domestic sector struggles, the economy’s overall performance is strong. The biopharmaceutical industry, alongside technology, was a major contributor to a corporation tax take of more than €15 billion last year.Covid-19 has been harrowing, with sickness, death and disruption brought to so many lives.
Ireland is a major medicines manufacturer. The biopharmaceutical industry is spread across the regions, supporting tens of thousands of jobs and generating billions of euro in gross value added for the economy. The European Union is the world’s largest exporter of medicines, with a market share of 64 per cent. We must avoid blunt instrument policies like “reshoring” that would jeopardise supply chain resilience.
A review of legislation by the European Commission is key to the future of the biopharmaceutical industry. It is an opportunity to create a pro-innovation policy framework. But there is a risk that, handled badly, it could damage Europe’s attractiveness for manufacturing investments, just as some research and development activity has migrated to other global markets.
The shared experience of creating vaccines and treatments for Covid-19 is having a spillover impact on the development of other medicines. For example, mRNA vaccines, are key in tackling Covid-19. But the technology can be engineered to treat other viruses and diseases, including cancer.