Ireland Must Use EU Presidency to Secure Future of Biopharma Sector, Industry Group Warns

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Dublin, Monday, 23^rd March 2026: BioPharmaChem Ireland (BPCI) has called on Government to use Ireland’s upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union to prioritise the long-term competitiveness of Europe’s biopharmachem sector, warning that rising costs and policy gaps risk undermining future investment.

The industry group today launched its EU priorities policy document, setting out key actions across competitiveness, innovation, sustainability and regulatory reform that it says are essential to maintaining Europe’s global leadership in life sciences.

Central to the report is a call for urgent progress on major EU policy files, including the Critical Medicines Act and the EU Biotech Act, to ensure Europe remains an attractive destination for pharmaceutical investment and innovation.

The document highlights the importance of ensuring the Critical Medicines Act strengthens supply chain resilience and patient access to medicines, while avoiding unintended cost or administrative burdens that could undermine competitiveness or create barriers for SMEs.

It also calls for accelerated implementation of the EU Biotech Act, including faster clinical trial approvals, operationalisation of supplementary protection certificate extensions, and the development of funding mechanisms aligned to the long development cycles of biotech innovation.

The report further emphasises the need to close Europe’s innovation gap, noting declining global share of pharmaceutical R&D investment and warning that without reform, value creation, scale-up, and first-launch markets will migrate elsewhere.

However, BPCI stresses that securing future investment will require coordinated action across a wider policy agenda.

Commenting on the launch of the report, Sinead Keogh, Director of BioPharmaChem Ireland and Head of Sectors at Ibec, said: “As Ireland prepares to assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the latter half of 2026, there is a unique window of opportunity to set a policy work programme that promotes the competitiveness and secures the resilience of one of Europe’s most strategic sectors.

“We are acutely aware of ongoing global energy volatility and geopolitical instability, but energy is just one part of a broader competitiveness challenge. Alongside championing an Affordable Energy Action Plan that recognises the biopharmachem sector as a strategically significant, energy-intensive industry, the Irish Government must prioritise policies that support innovation, strengthen supply chains and ensure Europe remains a global leader in life sciences.”

Tim Shanahan, VP External Manufacturing Operations at Ipsen and Chairperson of BioPharmaChem Ireland, said the publication comes at a pivotal moment ahead of Ireland’s EU Presidency:

“Europe and Ireland’s current success in life sciences no longer guarantees the future prosperity for the sector. The EU’s position as a life sciences leader is one that must be reinforced and upheld by strategic policy intervention. The global landscape has fundamentally shifted, with geopolitical tensions and trade conflicts creating new uncertainties that challenge Europe’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy.”

While highlighting a broad policy agenda, the report also identifies energy as a key competitiveness issue. It warns that access to affordable renewable energy, adequate grid capacity, and proportionate and fair regulation are now critical, with Europe already at a disadvantage as EU’s industrial electricity prices are roughly double of that in the United States of America.

With more than 65,000 people employed directly in Ireland and a further 30,000 jobs supported indirectly, BPCI said maintaining a competitive policy environment is critical to sustaining the sector’s contribution to the Irish and European economy.

BPCI is calling for coordinated engagement between Government, EU institutions and industry, with a focus on delivering progress across four key pillars.