Enterprise Ireland brings top US BioPharma mission to Dublin for “matchmaking” with Irish biotech firms

The first ever US BioPharma Mission to Ireland, organised by Enterprise Ireland, is in Dublin this week with the aim of forging stronger business relationships between Ireland and the US with new collaborative partnerships between the two countries.

As part of the mission’s visit, later this morning (Wednesday) thirteen of the USA’s best-of-breed bio-pharma contacts will meet with 21 Irish biotechnology companies in a half-day ‘matchmaking’ session designed by Enterprise Ireland to further commercial and research relations. Enterprise Ireland’s ‘matchmaking’ process, being staged at a Dublin city centre hotel, will facilitate over 140 individual meetings between potential business and research partners over a four-hour period.

Mission participants include senior level executives from major US corporations, such as Pfizer, Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, & Biogen, as well as the National Institutes of Health, Cornell University and Rice University.

Welcoming the mission to Ireland, Michael Ahern TD, Minister for Trade and Commerce, expressed the hope that members of the mission could play a critical role in shaping the indigenous industry in Ireland through partnerships and advisory work. He added: “Many in the US are already influencing and supporting the growth of the Irish industry through the Bio-Link USA-Ireland Association which Enterprise Ireland established. I will again take the opportunity to increase those links when I meet with the Bio-Link group as part of a trade visit I will be leading to New York next week.”

Organiser of the Mission, Enterprise Ireland’s Marina Donohoe (Director Americas) said that Ireland is recognised as one of the top 25 global locations for biotechnology. Ms Donohoe commented: “Forty-one companies in Ireland, both multinationals and Irish-owned enterprises, are engaged in activities that were primarily based on biotechnological research or processes. Enterprise Ireland expects that the Mission should result in stronger business relationships between Ireland and the US with new collaborative bio-pharma partnerships between both countries.”

Ms Donohoe added: “ This Inward Mission is part of a comprehensive strategy to support the indigenous biotech sector through initiatives in Ireland and overseas. The overseas strategy is focused on identifying key sales/ partnering/ research opportunities for our clients. The US is a key market for the Irish Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical industry given its market size and its position as a leader worldwide in the industry.

“This Mission is an opportunity to demonstrate the importance of Ireland as a source of innovative solutions for the Life Sciences industry, illustrated by the wide-ranging capability of the companies attending.”

ENDS/TC122