Ireland’s pharmaceutical export record was rewritten in 2025 by a single therapeutic category. The Pharmaceutical Sector in Ireland: A Health Check on Strengths, Risks, and Economic Impact, published on 4 March 2026 by Goodbody for the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association, found that hormone and derivative exports, principally GLP-1 components, surged from €14 billion in 2024 to €51 billion in 2025, pushing total exports to a record €139 billion.

The report is a confident statement of strategic position. Ireland has translated decades of manufacturing investment into a commanding role in the fastest-growing therapeutic category in the global market. The data merits commendation: Ireland’s biologics infrastructure aligns with medicines patients need, fiscal returns life sciences investment generates are real, and an agenda for extending competitive advantage is visible.

The GLP-1 contribution is striking but intelligible. Semaglutide and tirzepatide, produced by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly at major Irish sites, drove explosive demand that Ireland’s manufacturing base was positioned to meet. The sector employs 75,000 workers directly and indirectly, growing three times faster than the wider labour market. Ireland is the EU’s second-largest pharmaceutical exporter and hosts the highest number of FDA-registered drug manufacturing sites per capita in Europe. The industry paid over €6 billion in taxes in 2023 and €4.1 billion in corporation tax in 2024.

The US trade environment has confirmed rather than threatened Ireland’s position. Pharmaceuticals were exempted from the proposed 10% US global tariff, and 16 of the 17 largest pharmaceutical companies signed agreements granting a three-year moratorium on pharma-specific tariffs. Over 60% of Irish pharma exports flow to the US, making this exemption significant for revenue visibility. Ireland’s GMP excellence, regulatory reliability, and European supply chain proximity make it a jurisdiction complex therapy sponsors prioritise.

The infrastructure foundations are substantive. The National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training has expanded into cell and gene therapy, preparing Ireland’s talent pipeline for advanced therapeutic modalities. IDA Ireland confirms over €15 billion in biopharma foreign direct investment in the past decade. A national infrastructure programme targeting US$216 billion (approximately €199 billion) by 2035 underpins the energy, transport, and housing capacity operations need.

Three actions will consolidate Ireland’s position. Site operators should accelerate capacity planning for advanced therapy medicinal products, as NIBRT’s expansion signals the policy environment is positioning for modalities beyond GLP-1. Government should prioritise energy infrastructure, as electricity reliability and renewable availability are increasingly decisive in investment decisions. IDA Ireland and IPHA should develop an international narrative connecting GLP-1 success with capabilities in biologics, sterile injectables, and complex manufacturing to attract the next anchor investment cohort.

The Goodbody report captures an industry at a moment of evidence-based confidence. Ireland has compounded its structural advantages into a dominant position in the most consequential therapeutic transition of the decade. The task is not to protect what exists but to extend it, ensuring the infrastructure, talent, and policy conditions that built the GLP-1 platform are ready for the modalities that define the decade ahead.

(The views expressed by the writer are his/her own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of BusinessRiver.)