Inventing 'What’s Next' from MSD Ireland to the world
Mairead McCaul, Managing Director of MSD Ireland Human Health and Head of MSD Ireland Country Leadership Team.
The success of the pharmaceutical industry in Ireland cannot be overstated.
For more than 50 years, at MSD we have been proud to play our role in Ireland’s success story as a biopharmaceutical hub. We are continuously growing our team and network of sites across the country in our pursuit to help improve the lives of people and patients across the world.
We have invested hugely in the Irish market over our 50 years in Ireland and with over 3,000 people currently employed in our six sites across the country, we strive to be at the forefront of research helping to tackle many of the world’s most complex health challenges. Our cutting-edge treatments and vaccines rely on over 130 years of global expertise, which our team leverages and furthers every day to invent what’s next.
We believe Ireland will continue to be a key part of our global plans and over the past year, our network has seen tremendous growth across all of our sites, always with our commitment to our people, and with our communities and our environment firmly at the heart of everything we do.
In November of last year, we officially opened our new, state-of-the-art facility in Swords, MSD Biotech, Dublin. Having invested over €1 billion in the site since construction began back in 2018, our Biotech Dublin facility plays a key role in the manufacture and commercialisation of our portfolio, particularly focussing on cutting-edge immuno-oncology products.
The site is a true testament to our innovative, dynamic and committed culture with a team of ground-breaking innovators working tirelessly to leverage and further the latest technologies and processes to deliver for people and patients. The site is a living example of our country’s reputation as an island of innovation.
The official opening of the site also marked a huge milestone in our long history in Ireland alongside many other exciting developments we’re overseeing. With further expansions also ongoing across our sites in Dunboyne and Carlow, and with our sites in Tipperary and Cork both working at the forefront of our sector, we’re looking forward to the future with excitement for what comes next.
However, there is a profound and long-standing paradox of the Irish pharma success story and one that we must address as a society. Our top-class manufacturing plants make and produce innovative medicines for use in healthcare settings across the world, but Irish patients wait longer than most Europeans to access the latest approved therapies. This is particularly poignant when it comes to patients in Ireland trying to access cancer medicines.
Discovery, production and reimbursement of innovative cancer medicines remains a complex topic, and strides have been made in recent years. But unfortunately, the reality of cancer care in Ireland is still far from that of our European counterparts, the frustration remains that there are approved, cutting-edge medicines produced here in Ireland that are available elsewhere in Europe, but which patients in Ireland still can’t access in a timely fashion.
These challenges will only become more acute as the nature of innovation is changing, with treatments for cancer becoming more complex. If the Irish healthcare system is not able to adapt in order to rapidly adopt these new innovations, Irish patients will be left even further behind. In order to address this, industry, policy and the wider healthcare community need to come together to collaborate towards robust and people-first solutions.
As we continue to grow our operations across the country, we remain committed to ensuring we’re making a difference through our work. Our ambition is to see this realised to its full potential here in Ireland, ensuring the products developed within our communities can be made accessible in to all those who need them.
Find out more www.msd-ireland.com
