This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Ireland’s development agency is seeking to bolster Dublin’s credentials as the post-Brexit home for the European Medical Agency (EMA) when it relocates from London.

The Industrial Development Authority has rejected reports that Dublin is losing out in the European-wide race.



Bloomberg claimed earlier this month that the Irish capital has fallen behind cities such as Amsterdam and Frankfurt in the competition to woo the EMA, which evaluates medical products.

Tommy Fanning, the head of the development agency’s bio-pharmaceuticals division, denied the claim that Ireland has “no natural allies” in the process.

Fanning said Ireland’s “natural allies” include the presence of the world’s top 10 “big pharma” corporations in the Republic. The sectors in Ireland employ about 125,000 people.

“The pharmaceutical giants based in Ireland already generate €1bn per annum in the Irish economy. The top ten are here in Ireland already and many of the new drugs being brought onto the market are manufactured here in Ireland,” Fanning said.

“So it makes sense that the EU-wide agency tasked with testing and evaluating these new generation of drugs – many of them blockbusters that take on serious diseases like cancer – should be based in the country where they are being developed,” he said.

Fanning said a Dublin-based EMA could also test and evaluate the new generation of medical devices being made in Ireland to deliver the new drug treatments.

European Medicines Agency warns of 'permanent damage’ from relocation Read more

Nineteen cities ranging from Stockholm to Bucharest are seeking to woo the EMA after the UK leaves the EU. A final decision is expected on the EMA’s new headquarters next month.

The EMA has warned that the damage caused by its relocation would at best take two years to fix and at worst lead to its complete breakdown and a major public health crisis for the continent.