BioWorld International Correspondent

DUBLIN, Ireland - Enterprise Ireland, the Irish government agency responsible for developing indigenous industry, is tapping into the Irish diaspora in an effort to forge links between the fledgling native biotechnology sector and Irish scientists, industry executives and clinicians working overseas.

Earlier this year, the agency's U.S. organization stimulated the formation of a network in the States, BioLink USA-Ireland, which is planning an inaugural conference in New York on Oct. 9 and 10. About 400 individuals already are part of that structure, which has regional chapters in New York, New Jersey, Boston, Connecticut, the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, Chicago, Philadelphia, North Carolina's Research Triangle Park and Houston. Its president, Denis Headon, of Rice University in Houston, told BioWorld International that the organization could grow to 1,000 members in the next two years.

The UK leg of the initiative is less advanced. "We're probably six or eight months behind the guys in the U.S. in terms of progress along this road, but the objective is fundamentally the same," Eamonn May at Enterprise Ireland's London office told BioWorld International. May has identified more than 130 scientists, clinicians and industry executives he intends to invite to a series of kick-off meetings planned for Cambridge, Edinburgh and London in November.

Enterprise Ireland aims to increase the number of life sciences start-ups, including both biotechnology and medical devices firms, from around 20 (early last year) to 60 by 2007. It wants Irish scientists and executives with international experience to get involved.

Enterprise Ireland's New York office has built up profiles of around 240 of BioLink USA-Ireland's membership. Its vice president for healthcare, Deirdre McDonnell-Lee, told BioWorld International that around 75 percent of them are interested in returning to Ireland within the next five years. A number of these have already developed business plans, she said, while others have research concepts that could eventually lead to commercialization. Another grouping is interested in working for multinational companies located in Ireland.

The Irish government has prioritized biotechnology, along with information technology, as key sectors for industrial development and research and development support. The centerpiece of its strategy is Science Foundation Ireland, an agency given a research and development budget of €646 million to allocate to those two areas between 2000 and 2006. It also has participated, on a public-private partnership basis, in two specialist life sciences venture capital funds, Seroba Bioventures and the European Biosciences Fund, which have an aggregate €40 million under management.