Introduction
I am delighted to be here today in DCU to officially launch the new facilities of BioUetikon Ltd.
As you know, BioUetikon Ltd has its origins in a company called Archport Ltd, which was originally formed a decade ago as a spinout company by senior DCU staff, including the current director of the National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology, Professor Martin Clynes.
This significant strategic investment by your Swiss/German parent company, the CPH group, provides another important example of international business confidence in Ireland.
CPH has a long history of technological innovation, as well a reputation for providing the highest standards of quality and reliability. With an annual turnover of €600 million and a workforce of over 800 people, it continues to go from strength to strength.
BioUetikon will complement the services offered for many years by CBH to the global pharmaceutical industry, as well as building on years of international experience in the field. I understand that the CPH chemicals division goes back to the oldest, still-existing chemical plant in Switzerland, founded in Uetikon in 1818.
BioUetikon is also an excellent illustration of how Ireland can attract investment through an environment in which business, universities and government work closely together to sustain the Irish economic success story into the future.
SSTI
The Government fully recognises that sustained economic growth and prosperity depends upon establishing a culture of scientific and technological innovation; world-class R&D; and a globally competitive, knowledge-based economy.
That is why we see the €8.2 billion investment in Science, Technology and Innovation under the NDP as a cornerstone of Government policy.
R&D activity in Ireland has expanded dramatically in recent years, reflecting the Government’s commitment to ensuring world-leading centres of excellence in fields such as life sciences, medical technologies, software and information technology.
Last year, expenditure on R&D in the public sector alone was almost €1 billion – between four and five times greater than in 1997, when I became Taoiseach.
OECD figures show Ireland’s total investment in knowledge – including spending on higher education – increasing by an average annual rate of over 10% over the past decade, compared with EU and OECD averages of around 3%.
In the last five years, IDA client companies have invested €1.3 billion in new R&D activities in Ireland, including 45 new projects in 2007. And we are well placed to secure further significant investments in key target sectors in 2008.
Biopharma
The niche occupied by BioUetikon is of course of particular strategic significance to Ireland.
14 of the top 15 pharmaceutical companies have plants in Ireland. Exports from the sector are currently worth some €33 billion per annum – accounting for almost one-third of total Irish exports.
Traditional pharmaceutical companies are now investing heavily in biopharma research. Worldwide, the biopharma sector accounts for 30% of all new drugs in development, a figure which is projected to grow to 50% by 2013.
Ireland has already attracted over €4 billion in biopharma investment, underpinning annual growth of around 1,000 new jobs in the wider pharmaceutical sector.
That is why we established the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT). This will support the development of the bioprocessing industry in Ireland through the provision of world-class skills and research.
DCU is of course one of the higher education institutions participating in this innovative collaboration. And I am pleased to confirm that Government will shortly be considering proposals to place the Institute on a permanent footing.
DCU
BioUetikon is only one of DCU’s success stories. DCU has also received many awards from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), which are approved by international peer review based on research excellence.
DCU has secured 162 awards, representing a total financial commitment of just over €85 million. DCU is also significantly involved in five Centres for Science, Engineering and Technology (CESETs), the key mechanisms for linking researchers and industry.
It is of course the lead university for two of these Centres – the Biomedical Diagnostics Institute established in 2005 and the more recently established Next Generation Localisation Centre approved only last year.
I would also like to mention the funding of some €3.75 million announced recently by Minister Hanafin, under the Refurbishment of Research Facilities Scheme. The refurbished Bioanalytical Science Facility will house 56 additional workstations, to be integrated with specialist facilities in bioanalysis and bioengineering.
Its close proximity with BioUetikon, along with the involvement of other industrial partners, will create a truly impressive facility for translational medicine – a field of growing importance in connecting basic research more directly with patient care.
Conclusion
The ambitious science and technology goals we have set ourselves depend on the strength of the collaborative relationships we can build between our higher education and enterprise sectors.
The BioUetikon facilities being launched here today are a model of what can be achieved when these relations work well – demonstrating the capacity to connect knowledge, innovation, people and enterprise to the meet the rapidly evolving demands of world markets.
I congratulate all concerned and I would like to wish everybody associated with the company and with DCU every success for the future. Thank you very much for your attention.
ENDS