If it wasn't really happening, the story of Ireland's quest to transform itself into a life science powerhouse in the course of a few short decades would sound highly implausible.

With remarkable unity, the Irish government, academia, and industry are forging a new culture—a "knowledge economy", starting with the development of a world-class life science framework. The opportunity to transform the country was provided by the boom that swept through the economy in the 1990s and acted upon with verve and foresight at the turn of the century.

Before that, Ireland was anything but science-friendly. The general public was uninterested-to-hostile (in fact, to this day a popular science culture is lacking). Research funding was rock-bottom; only the hardiest researcher persevered and his impact was limited. In the 1980s and '90s, any young Irish scientist with an eye on a good career bought the first airplane ticket she could, and waved goodbye to friends and family with no expectation of going back home to work.

Now, the best and brightest have returned with bags of experience and global connections to take up well funded jobs in universities and industry throughout the country. This talent pool is drying up so institutes are also busy courting leading non-Irish researchers. While the high cost of living and Ireland's limited track record are obstacles, generous funding combined with an atmosphere that is congenial in every sense is winning over many new recruits.

On the pharmaceutical industry side, investment has been impressive and sustained. Most of the world's big pharma have a manufacturing presence in the country—there are 32 FDA-approved manufacturing plants that produce six of the top ten best selling drugs in the world, and the life sciences sector produces exports approaching €40 billion per annum. Between July 2006 and June 2007, Ireland attracted 25% of the foreign direct investment in the European Union in the life sciences, obliterating all EU rivals, including vastly bigger nations, such as France, Germany and the United Kingdom. The challenge, which is being enthusiastically met, is to position the sector at the cutting edge of development.

The home-grown biotech sector is a fragile flower showing the first signs of blooming. Industry observers say the new emphasis on funding research in universities has a good chance of producing a generation of companies that could help the Irish biotech scene make a mark internationally.

In this supplement we take an in-depth look at Ireland's extraordinary life science quest, covering events through the eyes and ears of those who have wrought the transformation. It's a story worth telling well, and required lots of time, space and resources. We're grateful to our sponsors for supporting our efforts, and to our Advisors for keeping us on the right track—though we stress that responsibility for the content rests with us. Thanks also to our terrific editorial expert on the ground, Sabine Louet and to Samara McCarthy for helping get this project up and running.

Will Ireland succeed? Progress thus far has been impressive, but the competition is stiff. To compete, the Irish Government must keep increasing investment, even in the face of a downturn. Doubling the number of PhD graduates over the next few years, and increasing the number of active supported researchers by 75% indicates that the necessary determination is in place. It's a tall order, but we wouldn't bet against Ireland becoming a major global player in the life sciences.

Stephen Pincock

Supplement Editor

Richard Gallagher

Editor & Publisher, The Scientist