Image: Boehringer Ingelheim

Ireland has a world-renowned reputation for pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing. It currently hosts 9 of the world’s top 10 Pharmaceutical companies and 18 of the top 25 MedTech companies based on annual sales and revenue.

However, we wanted to see which companies currently contribute the most to Ireland in terms of the number of people employed.

So here is a list of the top 10 pharmaceutical and medical device companies in Ireland based on number of employees.

1. Boston Scientific – 5,700 employees
2. J&J – 5,100 employees
3. Abbott – 5,000 employees
4. Pfizer – 5,000 employees
5. Stryker – 4,500 employees
6. Almac – 4,200 employees
7. Medtronic – 4,000 employees
8. MSD – 3,000 employees
9. Lilly – 3,000 employees
10. Abbvie – 2,600 employees

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Area/Products: Pharmaceuticals

Estimated number of employees: 2,600

Brief history: AbbVie is an American biopharmaceutical company formed in 2013 when Abbott Laboratories announced its plan to separate into two publicly traded companies. It was decided that the “new” Abbott Laboratories would specialize in diversified products including medical devices, diagnostic equipment and nutrition products, while AbbVie would operate as a research-based pharmaceutical manufacturer that specialises in making small molecule drugs for patients worldwide. Abbvie completed its acquisition of Allergan in 2020

Presence in Ireland: AbbVie now employs almost 2,600 people across 7 sites in Ireland. Alongside five manufacturing facilities in Cork, Dublin, Sligo, and Mayo, there are two offices in Dublin that serve the needs of the company’s Commercial, Supply Chain and Operations activities.

Area/Products: Pharmaceuticals

Estimated number of employees: 3,000

Brief history: Lilly was founded in 1876 in the USA. Lilly currently markets products in multiple disease areas including cancer, diabetes, schizophrenia, depression and many more. Its products are available in over 135 countries around the world, and it employs 43,000 people globally. Its revenue in 2023 totalled over $34.12 billion.

Presence in Ireland: Lilly established manufacturing in Ireland with a site in Kinsale, West Cork in 1978. This site produces active pharmaceutical ingredients for products across the Lilly portfolio in three main areas: small molecule API manufacture and supply; small molecule commercialisation; and biopharmaceutical commercialisation and supply. In addition, Lilly established its Global Business Solutions (GBS) centre in Little Island, Cork City which focuses on finance, supply chain, HR data management, customer support, clinical trial management and more.

More recently Lilly announced that it was investing €400 million in a new manufacturing plant to create 300 jobs in Limerick. Construction is currently underway.

Area/Products: Healthcare company

Estimated number of employees: 3,000

Brief history: MSD is the world’s fourth-largest pharmaceutical company providing products to over 140 countries. They produce a wide range of products including vaccines and prescription medications for diseases including diabetes, HIV, hepatitis C, oncology, and osteoporosis. Its total revenue in 2023 was $60.15 billion, with $53.58 billion coming from pharmaceutical drug sales.

Presence in Ireland: MSD began production in Ireland in 1976. Today, MSD employs over 3,000 people across six sites. It has five manufacturing sites in Ballydine (Co. Tipperary), Brinny (Co. Cork), Carlow Town (Co. Carlow), Dunboyne (Co. Meath) and Dublin.  The commercial head office for its animal health and human health businesses as well as several global and national support services (including clinical research, medical affairs, regulatory affairs, sales, policy & communications and marketing) is located at Red Oak North in Dublin.

Area/Products: Medical devices

Estimated number of employees: 4,000

Brief history: Medtronic began as a medical supply repair shop in the US in 1949. Its first commercial product was a battery-powered, wearable pacemaker. From then on they have focused on technology as a means of improving treatment.

In 2014, Medtronic bought Irish company Covidien to further expand its operations. It is now the largest medical device company in the world with revenues in 2023 of $31.22 billion. Globally, Medtronic employs over 95,000 people.

Presence in Ireland: Medtronic moved into Ireland in 1999 and employs more than 4,000 people across 5 sites in Galway, Athlone and Dublin. Galway operations employ over 2,000 people within sites at Mervue and Parkmore. The third site is a former Covidien manufacturing site in Westmeath, employing over 500 people. Medtronic’s headquarters and principal executive offices are located in Dublin while the Customer Contact Centre in City West houses customer services, sales and marketing functions.

Area/Products: Contract Development and Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

Estimated number of employees: 4,200

Brief history:  Almac is a contract development and manufacturing company providing an extensive range of services across the drug development lifecycle to the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors based in Craigavon, Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1968 and employs 7,000 worldwide. Almac’s sales revenue in 2023 was £840 million.

Presence in Ireland: Almac has sites in Armagh, Louth and Westmeath.

Area/Products: Medical devices

Estimated number of employees: 4,500

Brief history: Stryker was founded by an orthopaedic surgeon in the U.S in 1941. Dr Stryker was aiming to make products that met his patients’ healthcare needs. Stryker continues in the field of medical technology today with a focus on surgical devices – now one of the biggest such companies in the world. Its total revenue in 2023 was $20.49 billion and it currently employs over 52,000 people worldwide.

Presence in Ireland: Stryker has eight sites across Ireland. It has five manufacturing facilities in Cork, one in Limerick and a manufacturing site in Antrim, Northern Ireland. The five plants in county Cork (Anngrove, Model Farm Road, Springhill, Tullagreen, and Macroom) manufacture neurovascular catheters and coils, cutting accessories, blades & burs and orthopaedic hips while their site in Limerick manufactures orthopaedic knees and bone cement and is home to over 770 employees. It also has an R&D Innovation Centre located in Cork City.

Area/Products: Pharmaceuticals

Estimated number of employees:: 5,000+

Brief history: Pfizer was first established in 1849 as a fine-chemicals business in New York and has grown to become the world’s biggest biopharmaceutical company through both pipeline development and acquisition. Pfizer has treatments in many prominent disease areas and therapies in most high-growth markets. In 2023, Pfizer’s revenue was reported as $58.5 billion, making it the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing company in the world.

Presence in Ireland: Pfizer was one of the first pharmaceutical companies to move into Ireland, in 1969. Its total capital investment in Ireland exceeds $9 billion. Pfizer currently employs approximately 5,000 people across 3 manufacturing sites in Ringaskiddy Cork, Grange Castle Dublin (formerly Wyeth), and Newbridge Kildare, and two business operation centres at Citywest and Ringsend Dublin.  Their manufacturing operations include active pharmaceutical ingredients, solid dose pharmaceuticals, sterile injectables, vaccines, biopharmaceuticals and the BioNTech Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.

Area/Products: Diagnostics, medical devices, generic pharmaceuticals and nutritionals.

Estimated number of employees: 5,000

Brief history: Abbott worldwide was founded in 1888. Globally, Abbott currently employs 114,000 people, with a customer base across over 130 countries. It reported global sales in 2023 of $40.01 billion. Abbott works in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of a range of products. Their portfolio spans the breadth of healthcare including medical devices, diagnostics, branded generic pharmaceuticals, and nutritionals.

Presence in Ireland: Abbott has had a presence in Ireland since 1946. Today they employ almost 5,000 people across 10 Irish locations including manufacturing sites in Cavan, Donegal, Longford, Sligo, Kilkenny (under construction) and Tipperary, and commercial and support operations in Dublin.

Area/Products: Medical devices, pharmaceuticals and consumer packaged goods

Estimated Number of Employees: 5,100

Brief history: Johnson & Johnson is a US-based multinational company that manufactures medical devices, pharmaceuticals and consumer packaged goods. It was founded in 1886 by Robert Wood Johnson I, James Wood Johnson and Edward Mead Johnson. The company’s headquarters are located in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Johnson & Johnson is a leading name with many household items such as Johnson & Johnson baby products, Neutrogena skin and beauty products, Band-Aid, and clean and clear face washes.

Presence in Ireland: Johnson & Johnson has been operating in Ireland for 80 years across three business sectors – Consumer Health, Medical Devices and Diagnostics and Pharmaceuticals. It employs over 5,000 people across 10 locations in five counties – Cork, Dublin, Limerick, Galway and Mayo.

Area/Products: Medical devices

Estimated number of employees: 5,700

Brief history: Boston Scientific produces a large range of medical devices used to diagnose and treat patients with issues in the areas of cardiology, urology, endoscopy and many more. It was founded in 1979 with the aim of creating less invasive medical devices and procedures and they continue to innovate across expanding areas of medicine. Its revenue in 2023 was $14.2 billion and it currently employs approximately 48,000 people across 40 countries.

Presence in Ireland: Boston Scientific has had a manufacturing presence in Ireland since 1994. There are currently three manufacturing sites in Cork, Galway, and Tipperary. Established in 1994, the Galway site is the largest in the country and provides research and development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and new product development.

The Cork site was opened in 1998 and manufactures a range of devices across several areas of the business.

In Tipperary, focus is on the development, manufacture, and distribution of defibrillators and pacemakers.