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IRELAND’S PHARMACEUTICAL sector needs to reposition itself and “scale up” its existing operations if it is to retain its multibillion-euro pharmaceutical industry and stave off the major challenges facing the sector in the next decade, according to a new strategy document launched by PharmaChemical Ireland in New York yesterday.

The document was launched at the annual meeting of the Drug, Chemical and Associated Technologies Association, a major industry event for the US pharmaceutical sector. It highlights the challenges facing the global pharmaceutical industry as patents for major “blockbuster” drugs are expiring, emerging replacement products coming through the research pipeline are lacking, and the industry is opening up to generic competition.