(Bio) Pharma Europe Working Group
(bio)Pharma Ireland, is a national working group led by SSPC, with representatives from the Pharmaceutical Technology Centre (PMTC), National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT), Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), Enterprise Ireland (EI), Irish Development Agency (IDA) and Biopharmachem Ireland (BPCI).
The aim of (bio)Pharma Ireland is to increase opportunities for research collaborations for the pharma sector; and ultimately contribute to the development of European roadmaps and policy. Through (bio)Pharma Ireland, SSPC has embarked on a period of engagement and networking in order to influence and inform policy initiatives in support of advanced manufacturing. A number of bilateral meetings were held in Brussels with representatives from relevant European Technology Platforms (SPIRE, Factories of the Future, EuropaBio), DG Research and DG Innovation in June and October 2016.
On Thursday, February 22, Professor Michael Zaworotko, SSPC Co-Director, announced the (Bio) Pharma Europe working group at BioPharma Ambition 2018. (Bio)Pharma Europe, an extension of Bio(Pharma) Ireland, is an inclusive industry/academia partnership working to create a more innovative environment for pharmaceutical manufacturing in Europe (both small and large molecule).
There is great importance to increasing EU research opportunities for innovation within the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector and an effective way of communicating this message to the relevant stakeholders in Europe is strengthened by this collective group. With the intervention of SSPC, the level of awareness as to the importance of the pharma manufacturing sector to EU has increased significantly. The White Paper will serve to advance engagement with key EU policy makers and, thus, create opportunities for Irish stakeholders to influence the scope of the next European framework-funding programme (FP9).
Prof. Michael Zaworotko, SSPC Co-Director announcing (Bio) Pharma Europe.
Seán Kelly, MEP, paid a visit to the SSPC team at the University of Limerick to discuss (bio)Pharma Ireland objectives in Europe.