investment Cormac Callaghan, founder and managing director of Primecore, a portfolio and program management consultancy based in Dublin and Cambridge, Massachusetts, has managed large-scale change programs for the pharmaceutical industry for the better part of 30 years. He has seen his share of setbacks: between 2006 and 2008, Callaghan was the…

Bavarian Nordic   If there is one thing that successful Danish companies have in common with one another, it is the clear recognition of abundant opportunities outside the motherland. “Danish companies’ strengths lie in their ability to build on what they have inherited from Denmark but to also look outward and be…

Ireland   What makes Ireland attractive for FDI? As the former general manager of Genzyme’s Waterford site, Pat O’Sullivan explains that a longstanding 12.5% corporate tax rate (that isn’t going anywhere) is one factor, but it doesn’t end there. Talent: “The first factor is the excellence of the workforce, which is…

Contract Manufacturing Lilly set up in Ireland three decades ago by purchasing a farm. In its early days, the operation produced intermediaries for small-molecule drugs. Nearby, Pfizer was manufacturing citric acid for soft drinks. The country was a fledgling industrial economy that was still mostly reliant on sectors like agriculture and fishing.…

Contract Manufacturing It is widely acknowledged that pharmaceutical manufacturing operations have entered into a period of significant cost reduction. Service providers like Dalkia—a French energy services company that has built its Irish business upon serving the pharmaceutical sector—have had to help clients cope. Dalkia Ireland’s managing director Pat Gilroy remembers his years…

FDI “The government’s vision has always been for indigenous companies to develop from the expertise brought in by FDI—and we are seeing that happening now.” Joe Costello, Minister for Trade & Development FDI into Ireland has created a feedstock for the indigenous ecosystem: raising the bar for standards and technology, contributing…

Ireland   “The elements that have made Ireland attractive for decades are still here. The big difference since 2007, however, is the cost base. If you are building a pharma plant in Ireland today, it will cost 35 to 40 percent less than it did six years ago,” says Barry O’Leary,…

Denmark “The Nordic region—the ‘quiet North’ as it could have been called—counterbalances the turbulence in Southern Europe,” says Zinta Krumins, managing director Nordics, Boehringer Ingelheim, when asked about the relevance of the Nordics to the company. “The Nordics is a very stable region, with small but reasonable growth prospects, very good…

Austria   Historically, Austria was the dominant political power in Central Europe under the Habsburg dynasty which ruled until World War I. Although the 20th century has been marked by significant shake ups and power shifts between countries in Europe, Austria remains today a key strategic market thanks to its steady economic…

Italy Sicily plays a major role in a plethora of gangster stories, whether real or fictional; the initiated also know that it is the land of incredibly well preserved Greco-Roman sights and excellent food and wine. Fewer, however, are aware that the Italian island more recently gave birth to outstanding pharmaceutical…

Despite its diminutive size, the Netherlands has historically carried a large weight in the world because of certain cultural endowments: small but united, entrepreneurial, innovative, and externally oriented. During the Dutch Golden Age, the “low country” monopolized international trade and commerce giving rise to tulip manias, artistic masters, and the…

  The ’90s was an enthusiastic time. With the fall of communism in 1989 and the emergence of the free economy, the international pharmaceutical industry arrived in the Czech Republic to find a highly receptive market. Modern therapies found alacritous patients. Uninitiated Czech doctors welcomed pharmaceutical representatives into their offices…