Brabant is a great point of focus for the medical technology and pharmaceutical industry in Ireland, with international pharmaceutical companies based in the republic showing an above-average interest in the southern Netherlands with regard to future distribution activities on the Continent. This emerged during a recent visit by the Brabant Development Agency (BOM) and the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) to a number of industry-leading companies in Ireland.

The visit was a follow-up on previous contacts made last year, when the BOM highlighted the results of a benchmark in Ireland. The benchmark demonstrated that Brabant, when compared to other European regions, has the best grades when it comes to international pharmaceutical companies looking for new distribution locations. The province's strategic location, the infrastructure, the favorable employment climate, legislation and customs regulations are all important factors for which Brabant scores well, while the logistics chain expenses also mean that Brabant has a great advantage over other regions in Europe. These and other benefits for choosing Brabant have led many leading companies in the medical-technical and pharmaceutical industry, such as Amgen, Abbott and Hollister, to set up distribution centers in Brabant.

It is apparent that it is particularly American pharmaceutical companies, which previously established themselves in the United Kingdom and Ireland, that now require new regional distribution structures - ones more efficient and that cut costs further and that can be used to raise their service to customers to a new level. This was once again evident during the recent BOM visit to Ireland, when a number of companies indicated they wished to include Brabant in their quest for options in terms of optimizing supply chains. Those expressing an interest include eminent pharmaceutical and medtech/biotech companies. Aside from requiring information on the supply chain and the standard conditions for setting up a business, they were also interested in the knowledge available in the Netherlands when it comes to biotechnology. BOM and NFIA promised the Ireland-based companies they would put them in touch with their networks in the Netherlands and Brabant with regard to these matters.