The COVID-19 Products Scheme was developed jointly by IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland under the European Commission Temporary Framework that allows additional aid to be granted by EU Member States to companies that are developing or producing medicinal products and equipment used in the fight against COVID-19. Grant-aid under the scheme is available to eligible companies and IDA Ireland’s global team are actively marketing the scheme across its life sciences clients and the related sub-supply base.
The manufacture of medicinal products, including vaccines, is a complex activity that involves multiple production stages and manufacturing processes, specialist expertise, specific technology solutions and associated infrastructure and a well-coordinated global supply chain. The bulk of global manufacturing to date has been in dedicated vaccine production sites. Modification of an existing facility to manufacture a new product such as a vaccine, would require significant time and capital expenditure and a comprehensive regulatory assessment and is therefore not practical to meet the demands of speed and scale that are required to tackle the pandemic.
IDA Ireland is actively engaged across its portfolio of life science companies in response to COVID-19. In respect to the production of vaccines, this includes a focused and ongoing mapping of the sector. However, the response from the sector is that there is currently no available capacity within these pharmaceutical plants to produce COVID-19 vaccines.
Last October I convened a series of short meetings with several of IDA Ireland’s biopharmaceutical client companies to hear about the crucial role they are playing in the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic and particularly on the work being done in Ireland to assist in the global efforts to combat COVID-19. I will continue to engage with pharmaceutical and life science companies so that I can reinforce our strong and ongoing commitment to this critical sector and to support innovative companies that are taking the lead in developing the new products and processes that will further develop the industry here in Ireland and to help us in the fight against COVID-19.
