Sligo GAA has welcomed a video made by one of the world’s leading
pharmaceutical companies, AbbVie, which highlights the work and life
opportunities offered by the West of Ireland. AbbVie’s sponsorship of Sligo GAA and Sligo
LGFA is the only sponsorship in Ireland between a multinational pharmaceutical
company and a ladies’ or men’s inter-county Gaelic football team.
The video is part of the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association’s ‘Innovate
For Life’ campaign, a series of videos showing the many dimensions to pharma’s
impact on Ireland. The latest video showcases the opportunities AbbVie provides
in the North-West.
Sean Carroll, Chairperson of Sligo GAA, said the region was
honoured that one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies would
highlight the potential of the West.
“AbbVie employs over 2,500 people, with many located at its
manufacturing sites here in Sligo. The firm has world-leading medicines innovation
happening in Sligo, proving this can be done successfully
outside the traditional hubs of Dublin and Cork. Many of
its people are GAA players too making sure we have teams for club and county.
We are proud that they are our County sponsor.”
“AbbVie’s success has come because it has developed partnerships, not
just with the GAA, but with local educators too who produce the right graduates
for their needs. This means a whole generation of young people from the
West of Ireland no longer have to leave the region to secure careers in
this ground-breaking industry. Furthermore, these young people have
the chance to positively impact the lives of patients in Ireland and
around the world through the development of innovative medicines
because AbbVie located here,” Sean said.
The video, which is available to view online, shows the North-West at
its best. Outside of the workplace, it shows surfing and hiking
destinations are just minutes away, although many of AbbVie’s employees
simply enjoy the allure of a more serene lifestyle and the beautiful views
of the North-West.
The campaign, #InnovateForLife, opens a window on the world of medicines
innovation right across the lifecycle – showing the process from discovery and
development through to manufacturing and adoption by the health
services. The campaign is organised into three
pillars – Patients, Places and Pioneers – capturing the
economic and societal impact of the biopharmaceutical industry on patients’
lives, on communities, and on science and medicines development.
West of Ireland native Bernard Mallee, Director of Communications and
Advocacy at IPHA, said: “We are delighted to launch inspiring new
content for ‘Innovate For Life’ – the campaign IPHA leads
which draws together the many strands of our impact in patients’ lives, in
communities across the country, and in science for the development of new
treatments. During COVID-19, the role of our industry in the economy and in
healthcare has been starkly revealed. Like other biopharmaceutical innovators,
including Pfizer, Janssen, Takeda, Novartis and Astellas, AbbVie is part of
‘Innovate For Life’. We are proud of AbbVie’s contribution to the industry. It
is making medicines for global supply, creating jobs in the region, improving
patients’ health outcomes and helping to position Ireland for foreign direct
investments. The new film helps to tell that important story for AbbVie as part
of a wider industry narrative.”
Dr Jerry Bird, Head of the Science Faculty at IT Sligo,
features in the video. He says he is proud that his former students are
positively impacting the lives of patients in Ireland and around the world
through the manufacture of innovative medicines with AbbVie – medicines of
great value and significance to the medical industry, patients and their loved
ones.
“It’s important that parents and families understand that when their
sons and daughters come to us and train in pharmaceutical science and in
medical biotechnology, what are they going to do? They are going on to work in
an international company that is producing drugs that are
changing the lives of people, changing the lives of people with extremely
high-risk diseases, changing their outcomes and giving them new lives,” Dr Bird said.
Andrés Rodrigo, General Manager at AbbVie (Ireland), said: “AbbVie roots
in Sligo stretch back more than four decades. Over time,
our two separate sites there have scaled as the world of
medicines innovation turned. With that came demand for more people with new
skills. IT Sligo has been key in helping us to source
that new talent. We are a partner for Sligo’s economy. More than
that, we have become part of the community. Our people in Sligo
are supporting the global supply of innovative medicines in immunology,
haematology and for Parkinson’s disease, to mention just a
few. We are proud of their contribution to the economy and to society. We
wanted to tell that story as part of ‘Innovate For Life’.”
AbbVie employee Matt Kavanagh features in the video too. He left
commuting hell behind to embrace a new pharmaceutical career in the West of
Ireland. He’s still at the forefront of global medicines innovation, but
community appreciation of his company’s work is at a whole new level in his
adopted home.
He said: “My work-life balance is pretty good at the
moment. The fact that I can go hiking, even after the day’s work, having no
traffic and very little crowds means everything’s very accessible and doesn’t
take a whole lot of planning to go surfing or hiking. I get to do all that, as
well as being in the front-line of innovation.”
AbbVie’s video can be viewed Here
All videos are available at Innovate for Life