Now that we start to slowly and carefully emerge from the unprecedented effects of the Covid-19 pandemic we can take time to look back and reflect a little and maybe look forward with increased optimism.
BioPharmaChem Ireland (BPCI) and its members have remained fully operational throughout.
Even before An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar made that fateful announcement from the steps of The Whitehouse in Washington DC biopharma companies were mobilising all their available resources to ensure that they could keep the supply of essential medicines and other critical chemicals available to the globe.
This was critical as Ireland plays a very important role as a global supply hub for these products.
Many of these companies located in and around Cork and are household names to those who work and benefit from the contribution that they make to the local as well as indeed the national economy.
Names such as Pfizer, Janssen, Eli Lilly, Thermo Fisher, Hovione, GSK, MSD, Abbvie, Gilead, Merck, BASF, Biomarin, GE Healthcare, Novartis and Recordati to name but a few.
BPCI and its member companies met every single week to share knowledge and expertise as to how to keep up and running in the teeth of the Covid-19 storm.
Valuable know-how was shared, support given and technology exchanged.
This meant that no company was forced to fully close its doors throughout the period. Companies did not limit their discussions to Covid-19 they also discussed other critical issues such as sustainability and delivering on the European Commission Green Deal to ensure that we protect our planet as well as the lives of the patients and consumers that we serve.
Critical buffer vital in battle with Covid
Early on in the pandemic, the HSE experienced problems accessing a critical buffer used in the RT-PCR test which is used to identify the Covid-19 virus.
This buffer, known as Lysis Buffer, was used to prepare samples for analysis; it actually breaks open the virus.
BPCI were approached by Eamon Judge who works for Kinsale based biopharma company Eli Lilly.
Eamon was spearheading a local group known as The Covid Alliance.
Munster-based, The Covid Alliance was a coalition over 40 companies, universities/institutes of technology and hospitals. In response to the shortage of this buffer, the Alliance had developed a new way of manufacturing the buffer.
BPCI were informed that a key ingredient needed to manufacture the buffer, Guanidine Thiocyanate was in global short supply. BPCI’s members mobilised immediately and were able to identify a supply of this scarce material on the Continent.
BPCI member, Clonmel-based Camida brought their expertise to bear through their Sales Director, Orla Heenan and the material was secured.
A consortium of companies, including Gilead, Astellas, SK Biotek, GE Healthcare, MSD, Allergan, Alexion, Novartis, Henkel, BMS and WuXi, either underwrote the cost of the material or provided technical expertise to the project so the material was made available to the HSE at no cost.
The material was milled by A&C chemicals, based in Clonmel, and the final buffer was synthesised by NIBRT at their Dublin facility.
Initial capacity to support 500,000 tests was covered. Capacity to support the buffer remains in place and there is significant stock of Guanidine Thiocyanate still available should it be needed.
The Lysis Buffer Project was an excellent example of how local industry was able to collaborate and work with the educational and health sectors to bring a very tangible benefit to the country.
This was not the only area where companies provided support to local communities as many of them donated PPE and Ringaskiddy-based Hovione manufactured significant quantities of hand sanitiser at their chemical synthesis plant in the harbour.