Tom O’Ceallaigh, the Director Chemistry in Commercialisation, Development & Supply at MSD Ballydine has been awarded the SSPC at 15 Industry Champion Award. Tom, left, being presented with the award by Michael Napier, SSPC Governance and ex Janssen. Pic. Brian Arthur
Tom has played a key role in the Irish world of pharmaceutical research and development. As an author of the ICSTC Statement ‘Embeddening the pharmaChem Industry in Ireland’ he used his expertise and leadership, to play a vital role in advancing the development of a strong R&D environment in Ireland Inc and in particularly in the field of drug synthesis and solid-state pharmaceuticals. He worked with colleagues on the IBEC Pharmaceutical R&D group and with Prof Kieran Hodnett and his team in promoting the vision for a Scientific Cluster involving Academia and Industry.
These founding members recognised the need for a dedicated centre that would bring together expertise from academia and industry to address the challenges faced in synthesizing and manufacturing solid-state pharmaceuticals. This was in line with the ISTC Statement of embedding the existing manufacturing Pharmaceutical Companies by fostering the capabilities of future graduates to allow these site undertake more R &D work. This Cluster subsequently received SFI backing and initially became known as the Synthesis and Solid State Pharmaceutical Cluster (SSPC). Since 2009, Tom has been instrumental in forging a strong partnership with SSPC the SFI Research Centre for Pharmaceuticals formerly known as the Synthesis and Solid State Pharmaceutical Cluster.
As one of the industry founders of the cluster, Tom has contributed to the development and expansion of the SSPC and its significant advancements in pharmaceutical research and development over the years. Their collective vision was to establish a hub where cutting-edge techniques, technologies, and knowledge could be shared, fostering breakthroughs in drug development and providing PhD and post Graduate students an opportunity to engage with the most current approaches to research and development and evolving technologies for the Industry in Ireland .
Tom O’Ceallaigh’s role as Director at MSD has been pivotal in leveraging the resources and capabilities offered by SSPC. As Director involved and leading R&D projects at MSD pharmaceutical company, Tom is a strong advocator for promoting the development of Chemistry expertise through sponsorship of SSPC placements and engagement in many SSPC R&D projects.
With a keen eye for talent, Tom through involvement with SSPC identified and recruited many SSPC PhD students
Tom brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his role. His dedication to advancing scientific discovery has made him an invaluable asset not only to MSD but also to the broader pharmaceutical industry.
