Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association announces new President and launches General Election Manifesto
- Shane Ryan, General Manager for Takeda Ireland, takes the mantle as President of the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA)
- Central to his presidency, Shane Ryan pledges a focus on partnership to create an ecosystem that values innovation and improves health outcomes for all
- Caitriona Duggan, Country President for Amgen Ireland Ltd., is confirmed as Vice-President
- IPHA launches it General Election Manifesto bringing forward innovative ideas on how patients in Ireland can have faster access to new medicines
11th September 2024
The Board of the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA), the representative body for the research-based biopharmaceutical industry in Ireland, is pleased to announce Shane Ryan as its new President.
Shane is the General Manager for Takeda in Ireland and has retained this role for over six years, carrying with him a track record of success through clarity of purpose and vision. Caitriona Duggan, Country President for Amgen in Ireland, becomes Vice-President. Mr Ryan takes over the role from Biogen’s Michael O’Connell after his two-year term.
Transparent partnerships and building trust with stakeholders across Government, the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive will play a key role in Shane’s presidency, which will focus on driving forward decisions that both value innovation and improve health outcomes for all.
Commenting on this, Shane Ryan, General Manager, Takeda Ireland shared:
“I am honoured to serve IPHA members, representing a sector at the forefront of discovering, developing and bringing life-changing medicines and innovation to patients, clinicians and the communities that support them. It is a pivotal time – the recent elections of the European Parliament and the upcoming Irish general election present exciting opportunities for us to work in collaboration with others to achieve our vision of creating an environment which helps patients and places Ireland as the investment destination for life sciences.”
Oliver O’Connor, Chief Executive of IPHA, welcomed the appointments.
“I am delighted to welcome Shane and Caitriona to their respective new roles. They bring experience and expertise at a critical time for the industry in Ireland and globally. As we continue to engage in the reform of the EU Pharmaceutical Legislation, plan ahead to work with the next Government in Ireland and prepare for a new Framework Agreement, I look forward to supporting their goal in creating an innovative, competitive ecosystem which benefits all patients in Ireland”, said Mr O’Connor.
IPHA also publishes its General Election manifesto and central to this is an ask for the next Government to commit to a continuous and faster flow of new life-enhancing medicines, and vaccines, for patients in Ireland. The manifesto outlines innovative proposals on how this can be achieved.
Commenting on the launch of the IPHA General Election Manifesto, Mr. O’Connor said:
“Next year, IPHA members expect to make applications for reimbursement for 36 medicines which, according to most recent estimates, would positively benefit as many as 3,700 patients in Ireland, alongside their families and carers. However, we need to ensure that patients in Ireland will have fast and fair access to these new life-enhancing medicines next year, and in subsequent years, through multi-annual funding and reform of the current reimbursement process. Over the next couple of months, in the lead up to the next General Election in Ireland, we look forward to presenting to candidates, and other stakeholders our proposals on how this can be achieved.
“We believe that doctors should have the right medicine available for prescription for their patients at the right time and are therefore calling for a new voice for doctors in prioritising new medicines for patients. We would also like to see a levelling-up of care for patients with rare diseases through faster access to the medicines they need.
“To further these goals, industry is ready to play its part in speeding up the process and reaching a new Framework Agreement with the State in 2025. Since the last Agreement in 2021, IPHA member companies have actively delivered significant savings to the State well above what had been anticipated for the full four-year period of the Agreement. As we start planning for the next Agreement, we remain ready and willing to collaborate to achieve certainty for clinicians and patients to bring newly-authorised medicines to the Irish healthcare system as quickly as possible.
“An innovative life-science sector is of strategic importance to Ireland and Europe. IPHA companies are key contributors to R&D and clinical trials which improve patient outcomes and quality of life here and around the world. However, currently in Ireland we need to do better in terms of the numbers of clinical trials being conducted. We want to give patients hope through faster access to research treatments. We welcome the recent establishment of a new National Clinical Trials Oversight Group by the Minister for Health to support innovation and patient outcomes and we look forward to seeing its outputs. In particular, we support the Minister’s goal of doubling the number of clinical trials in Ireland. We believe this can be achieved over the lifetime of the next Government with clear and sustained political support.”
“In order to achieve all this and remain at the forefront of innovation and efficiency, it is crucial that we continue to upskill, both through the development of the next generation of talent and the adoption of new technologies. To place our sector at the cutting edge of data, digital and technology we need to work with all partners to develop the next generation of pharmaceutical leaders. This will be fundamental to creating better experiences for patients, providers and payers while also driving investment and supporting the establishment of a globally competitive ecosystem”.
ENDS
About Shane Ryan
Shane Ryan is the General Manager of Takeda in Ireland, a position he has held for over six years. Under his leadership, Takeda Ireland was recognised as Life Science Company of the Year in 2024. Shane has over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector. Shane is a leader within the life science industry and committed to representing the Irish biopharmaceutical sector. To this end, Shane has been Vice President of the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association for the past two years, and prior to this was a Director on the Board. Shane is also committed to ensuring the sector represents the diversity of the individuals, carers and clinicians that it serves and continuously volunteers his time to lead initiatives which drive this goal both externally and internally within Takeda.
About Takeda Pharmaceutical Company
Takeda is focused on creating better health for people and a brighter future for the world. We aim to discover and deliver life-transforming treatments in our core therapeutic and business areas, including gastrointestinal and inflammation, rare diseases, plasma-derived therapies, oncology, neuroscience and vaccines. Together with our partners, we aim to improve the patient experience and advance a new frontier of treatment options through our dynamic and diverse pipeline. As a leading values-based, R&D-driven biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan, we are guided by our commitment to patients, our people and the planet. Our employees in approximately 80 countries and regions are driven by our purpose and are grounded in the values that have defined us for more than two centuries. For more information about Takeda Ireland Ltd., visit our website https://www.takeda.com/en-ie/ or LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/takeda-uk-and-ireland
