Ireland was recognised among the top 25 global locations for biotechnology in ‘Beyond Borders’, The Global Biotechnology Report 2002, compiled by Ernst & Young. As yet, however, the indigenous Irish biotechnology sector is at an early stage of development. But it has considerable promise, as life sciences, along with information and communications technologies (ICT), has been prioritised by the Irish government as a key focus for research and development, while an ambitious plan to stimulate the emergence of commercial biotechnology-based enterprises is also underway.
Forty one companies in Ireland engaged in activities that are primarily based on biotechnological research and/or processes. These include companies involved in biopharmaceutical discovery and manufacturing, diagnostics, pharmaceutical services, bioenvironmental technology and agrifood technology. They include a mix of both multinationals and indigenous companies.
At the beginning of 2002, the government published a strategy calling for the creation of an additional 40 start-up companies over the next five years. Substantial resources are also committed to research in order to create the seedbed for this next generation of companies. Science Foundation Ireland was established in 2000 to allocate €635 million in basic research funding during 2000-2006 to life sciences and ICT researchers and to those working at the interface between the two disciplines, in areas such as bioinformatics and nanobiotechnology. A central component of its strategy is to establish university-based centres of excellence that have significant levels of industry involvement.
These will complement an earlier series of funding programmes administered by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), which manages the third level education sector, to boost both capital and recurrent expenditure on university-based research. Life sciences gained more than half of the €600 million that has been disbursed by the HEA, resulting in the creation of new institutes throughout the country’s university system, focussed on areas such as genomics, cellular biotechnology, neuroscience, biomedical engineering, immunology, biopharmaceuticals and molecular medicine, and food & health science.
Ireland has existing research strengths in diverse areas, including apoptosis, the molecular genetics of human disease, inflammation, immunology, infectious disease, cancer, ocular genetics, bovine genetics, tissue culture, antibody engineering, microbial molecular ecology and food science. Several start-up ventures based on these efforts have already been established. Others are in the process of being formed. A supporting infrastructure of life sciences venture capital funds, venture catalysts, clinical research organisations and service companies is emerging in parallel.
The development of biotechnology in Ireland has been characterised by a strong degree of cross-border co-operation and exchanges. An all-Ireland ‘Bio-Island’ is beginning to emerge. This has been further boosted by high-level US support for and involvement in a range of initiatives that have been established on a cross-border basis. A tripartite cancer consortium linking the departments of health in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland with the US National Cancer Institute is facilitating the establishment of collaborative projects and research exchanges. An embryonic research partnership with the National Institutes of Health will deepen the research connections between Ireland and the US even further.
Similar linkages are being pursued in the commercial sphere. Several initiatives are underway that will enable Irish biotechnology firms to tap into US sources of intellectual property, while US industry executives will make their experience available to young Irish companies as part of a novel mentoring programme. Ireland may be a relatively late starter in biotechnology, but the comprehensive set of measures it is putting in place gives it a significant opportunity for success. For more details, visit Biotechnology Ireland