It was a privilege for the CONCEPT team to be part of the recent visit to NIBRT by EU Health Ministers, Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, and senior national and European officials, as part of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Hosted by Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD, the visit gave the delegation a first-hand look at Ireland’s strengths in biopharmaceutical manufacturing, research and workforce development, ahead of the informal meeting of EU health ministers.
For us, it was a chance to show where many future medicines begin. At CONCEPT, our core facility for early-stage biotherapy development, we work with collaborators to turn ideas for antibodies, cell, gene and RNA therapies into optimised cell lines, biologics and advanced therapy products for research. With the forthcoming EU Biotech Act aiming to help Europe translate scientific excellence into real products, early-stage development is a vital link in the chain, connecting discovery to scale-up, manufacturing and, ultimately, patients.
Thank you to the Commissioner, Ministers and officials for their time and interest, and to Darrin Morrissey and our NIBRT colleagues for hosting such an important day. A special thanks to our team for showcasing our labs and capabilities so brilliantly.
With thanks to IDA Ireland and Research Ireland for their continued support.
CREDIT © Pic Michael Chester