In just 50 years, Ireland has become the world’s third largest exporter of pharmaceuticals, with medicines now making up about 20% of Ireland’s GDP. So how did Ireland become so tied to the pharma industry — and is that reliance at risk amid tariffs, patent cliffs and geopolitical tension?
The ‘why’ behind the headlines
In this video
Ireland manufactures some of the world’s most in demand medicines — from Viagra and Botox to the blockbuster weight loss drug Mounjaro.
In just 50 years, it has become the world’s third largest exporter of pharmaceuticals, with medicines now making up about 20% of Ireland’s GDP.
That success has also created dependence on the industry, and a growing share of the country’s tax base comes from a handful of multinational drugmakers.
The rise of China and India, combined with protectionist pressure from the Trump administration, is redrawing the global map of…
Ireland is running a strong fiscal surplus, driven by corporate taxes from U.S. multinationals like Apple and Pfizer. However,…
Relief from looming tariffs has only highlighted vulnerabilities at the heart of the Irish economy
Drugmakers brought prosperity to County Cork. Now the president threatens to take it all away
Manufacturing in Ireland has long helped many American drug companies pay lower taxes. But that strategy was designed for a world…
Companies have long lamented Europe's fragmented capital markets, single-market adoption on pricing and clinical trials, and…
