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pharmaceuticals in ireland See list of pharmaceutical companies in Ireland Pharmaceutica Industry Profile How typically is the Pharma Industry broken down? Pharmaceutical Industry Profile Ireland is a key global location for the pharmaceutical industry. Foreign Direct Investment for the Pharmaceutical sector in Ireland is 40 years old with Squibb (now Bristol-Myers Squibb) being the first pharmaceutical company to locate in Ireland in 1964. Currently thirteen (13) of the top fifteen (15) companies in the world have substantial operations in Ireland. In total there are eighty-three (83) facilities employing more than 17,000 people in Ireland. Ireland is now one of the world’s largest exporters of Pharmaceuticals with €34 billion of intermediates and finished pharmaceuticals exported in 2002. 6 out of 10 and 12 out of 25 of the world’s top selling drugs are produced in Ireland including Lipitor and Zocor. Products are manufactured for global markets. The Pharmaceutical cluster in Ireland is supported by a sophisticated infrastructure of serviced sites, public utilities as well as specialist support companies and services. Many of the pharmaceutical companies in Ireland have established multiple activities in Ireland, including Fermentation e.g. Schering-Plough, Wyeth The sector has become increasingly integrated in recent years. Early investment in fine chemical plants producing bulk active materials has been followed by investment in finished product pharmaceuticals. Many plants are now engaged in product development for Irish and other plants.
How typically is the Pharma Industry broken down? The Pharmaceutical Sector in Ireland may be divided into four main sub-sectors: • Primary Pharmaceuticals (Chemical)
The Primary Manufacturing Companies
What are the career opportunities like in this sector of pharma? This sector does not engage in early stage R&D and is also not responsible for the Sales & Marketing activities. Chemistry and Chemical Engineering graduates are most likely to find opportunities in this sector. Employment levels are not significant compared to other sectors due to the highly automated and capital intensive nature of these factories however those lucky enough to break into these companies will tend to have excellent career prospects and matching top hat remuneration packages. Typically these companies work hard to create an organization structure that enables people to move between different functional areas within the site and in some instances encouraging staff to work in other overseas locations. Most Scientific graduates joining these companies will commence their career within the Quality Control or Process Support functions and depending on their desired career path will move into Production Management, Quality or Technical/ Process Development. These companies have in the main been successful in retaining a high proportion of the graduates they hire and therefore many of their promotional opportunities are filled internally. The low level of staff turnover can be frustrating for very ambitious individuals, particularly those seeking a more management orientated career. For those who enjoy the challenges of working in an Industrial career within Engineering or Development/Process Chemistry then these organizations offer very challenging opportunities. These companies also use third party contractors extensively. Companies such as Jacobs Engineering and Project Management offer excellent opportunities to Engineers and Scientific Graduates of all disciplines. Currently like all companies in the Pharmaceutical sector there is a constant demand for candidates in the 3-10 year experience bracket with expertise in areas such as Validation, Equipment /Process Engineering, Quality Assurance / Regulatory Affairs, Process Development and Technical Production Management. What are salaries like in the Primary area? Normally Salaries start in this sector in the €25 –30,000 for graduates and rise quickly (4 years + experience) to the €40 –50,000 bracket. Once you reach Team Leader/ Middle management level your salary will fall into the €60 – 80,000 bracket. The Pharmaceutical industry is undergoing constant change and many of the top companies are struggling to find new block busting drugs. The high salaries and relatively stable and secure environment that many people experience within these organizations should not be taken for granted. Like everything the pace of change even within the conservative Primary Sector is increasing and individuals should focus on developing a good range of marketable skills either by proactively exploiting internal opportunities within their organization or moving on a relatively frequent basis to other companies.
The Secondary Pharmaceutical sector The Secondary Pharmaceutical sector is engaged in formulating, production and packaging a final product (ie Tablet, Parenterals, Cream etc.). The manufacturing technologies utilized in this area broadly involve a wide range of automated equipment involved in discrete activities such as blending & mixing, forming and filling, and high speed packing and distribution. This sector offers a wide range of career prospects to trade, technician and graduate level individuals. Not as capital intensive as primary producers the production technologies in this sector are more labour intensive. Career opportunities include roles in Validation, Packaging, Quality Engineering/Assurance, Analytical Chemistry, Logistics, Regulatory Affairs, Production Supervision, Formulation Scientist, and Equipment Engineering etc. Typically the minimum requirement to gain employment at operative level is a Leaving Certificate with good grades in English, Maths and preferably a science subject. However many of these companies will normally attempt to have a minimum entry-level requirement for applicants to hold a certificate in Science or Engineering. Similar to the Primary Sector the Secondary manufacturing area has seen steady growth over the last 30 years with an ever-increasing number of companies investing in new facilities in Ireland. Companies like Organon in Swords, part of AKZO, and Wyeth in Newbridge, part of American Home Products, have seen substantial growth in recent years. In fact Wyeth in Newbridge employs over 1500 people engaged in manufacturing tablets while Organon has grow to over 500 people engaged in the manufacturer of solid dosage and injectables. Other companies in this sector include Leo Laboratories (fully integrated site in Dublin engaged in Primary & Secondary manufacturing), Schering Plough in Bray – Animal Health Products, Elan in Athlone- Drug Delivery Technologies (consisting of R&D, Manufacturing and Sales & Marketing), Galen and Norbrook Laboratories in Northern Ireland both fully integrated companies operating R&D right through manufacturing to international Sales & Marketing. What are the Career opportunities and salaries like in Secondary Sector? Because of the higher levels of staffing in this area candidates tend to have better opportunity to progress to supervisory and managerial roles. Typically on joining these organizations individuals with scientific qualifications will commence their careers in the Quality Control Laboratories (Stability, Analytical Development, Microbiology) and progress from there into other departments such as Validation, Production, Documentation/QA, and Technical Support to Manufacturing, Formulation and Development. Individuals with a trade or Engineering background will typically start in a Maintenance or Equipment engineering roles and then will progress into one of the following areas: Project Engineering, Automation & Manufacturing, Validation, Production or Maintenance Management. Salaries in the secondary area whilst very competitive are not always as high as the Primary Chemical sector. Typical entry level is €18,000 – 24,000 with salaries rising into the €30-40,000 bracket after 3-5 years experience. Typical salaries in middle management roles are €50 –60,000 rising to €70-90,000 when reaching head of function. In the Quality Function candidates wanting to reach Senior Management level would need to be in a position to hold Qualified Person Status (Irish Medicine Board approved person entitled to release product from the factory). This status is achieved by taking a Post Graduate course, currently in Trinity College, or already holding a Degree in Pharmacy. There are currently plenty of openings for graduates and experienced people in this sector in all functional areas. The ever-increasing focus from the regulators such as the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) or Federal Drugs Authority (FDA) is resulting in companies having to invest heavily in training and increasing staffing levels in their Quality and Validation Departments. Thus for people holding Qualified Person Status (QP) and /or with good hands on expertise in dealing with these regulators there are plenty of opportunities and good salaries to be had. As a consequence of a combination of Governments Worldwide trying to reduce their healthcare costs and patents running out on many of the ‘Branded Wonder Drugs’, the fortunes of the Generic Manufacturers have improved dramatically in recent years. Companies such as Clonmel Healthcare, Gerard Laboratories and CrossVet Pharmaceuticals are gaining ground on their branded counterparts. This development is a threat to many of these large blue chip Pharmaceutical Companies with subsidiaries in Ireland. The Generic companies tend not to have the high R&D costs associated with the Branded companies and have traditionally operated much leaner and meaner operations having to survive on lower margins. In the future the IDA may find it more difficult to attract Generic Pharmaceutical companies to a high cost location like Ireland and some investment will inevitably end up in the lower cost Eastern Europe locations.
Diagnostics The Diagnostic manufacturing area in Ireland, although small in comparison to the Pharmaceutical sectors does have a number of successful indigenous companies such as Trinity Biotech plc and Biotrin. Trinity Biotech develops, manufactures and markets diagnostic products for the point-of-care, and clinical laboratory segments of the diagnostic market whilst Biotrin specialises in providing a range of novel and proprietary tests for the Clinician and Research Scientist. Both these companies offer good career prospects particularly to graduates in Biochemistry and Microbiology in R&D, Technical Production, Quality Control/Assurance, Regulatory Affairs, and Business Development. The salaries in this sector are not as attractive as those paid in the Pharmaceutical area and a life science degree holder should normally expect to start on €16, –18,000 bracket. However indigenous Irish companies’ salaries are often supplemented by bonus and share option schemes. There are also a good number of multinational subsidiaries in this sector including Abbott Diagnostics in Sligo and Olympus Diagnostics in Clare who have very sizable operations here in Ireland.
Biopharmaceuticals Biopharmaceuticals impact on the 21st Century will be as significant as the Microchip effect on society and industry in the second half of the 20th century. Basically Biopharmaceuticals is concerned with the alteration of molecules, genes and cells - the basic building blocks of life - to develop useful products, processes or services such as new medicines and therapies. In Ireland this sector received a major boost with the construction of the Wyeth Biopharma Campus in Clondalkin, Dublin, at a cost of €1.2billion – the largest single site investment in the Pharmaceutical sector worldwide. Along with Schering Plough, Brinny and Genzyme in Waterford, Ireland is steadily growing its Biopharmaceutical sector. Allied to this we have a group of indigenous companies such as Ntera (Nanotechnology), Archport (contract production and R&D services), ThromboGenics (innovative pharmaceuticals for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases). The multinationals in this sector offer a wide variety of career opportunities particularly for graduates in Biotechnology, Microbiology and allied Life Science qualifications. Similar to the other sectors they offer careers in Quality, Production, Engineering and Production Support. Salaries are very competitive mainly due to the presence of Wyeth and also there are shortages of experienced staff with Engineering. Validation, Quality and Production Technologists in the Biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Salary scales are similar to those found in the Primary Chemical sector. For candidates looking to join early stage development companies, normally backed by venture capitalist, there are very exciting opportunities to work at the forefront of the Biopharmaceutical field. However the road to success for these companies is no less difficult then Frodo’s journey in the Lord of the Rings. Entrepreneurs and investors face a long and unknown future and the failure rate is high. However if you pick the right horse you might end up with a great career and plenty of valuable share options in your back pocket. The Irish Government has identified the development of this Industrial Sector as one of the countries best option for the future. The challenge is to increase the amount of Research and Development activities undertaken by multinationals in Ireland and at the same time increase significantly the number of fully integrated indigenous Pharmaceutical, Diagnostic and Biopharmaceutical companies. |
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