2007-03-15

A emergência de um cluster?

"GlaxoSmithKline Plc investigated 12 countries when it was deciding where to research gastrointestinal diseases. It chose Ireland. University College Cork's Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre beat the U.S. and France to attract Europe's biggest drugmaker. The project has helped transform Cork, the city where Pfizer Inc. makes Viagra, into a hub for pharmaceutical research. A recent advertisement for six scientists to work at the lab attracted 170 applications from around the world. «There's a lot of good science in Ireland», says Jackie Hunter, Glaxo's head of gastrointestinal and neurological research. «They have decided to place their bets on science.» Tax breaks, state financing and an educated workforce have also attracted Amgen Inc. and Wyeth, as Ireland woos scientific research to counter the loss of drug manufacturing to lower-cost countries such as Puerto Rico. The number of Irish manufacturing jobs fell 9 percent to 288,500 in the five years through May as total employment rose 17 percent. «If we are to remain competitive, we have to move quickly up the value chain and ramp up much more quickly our investment in research», says Enterprise Minister Micheal Martin. Prime Minister Bertie Ahern's government made attracting research a priority in 1999. The country's 12.5 percent corporate tax rate, which had lured drugmakers in the 1970s, was no longer enough to retain low-skilled jobs as wages climbed in the euro region's fastest-growing economy."

Bloomberg.com, 15 de Março de 2007
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