Draghi Needs Friends – How to Keep Biotech Scaling in Europe

Name: Draghi Needs Friends – How to Keep Biotech Scaling in Europe
Start: 2026-09-30T11:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-09-30T13:30:00+02:00

30 September @ 11:00 am – 1:30 pm CEST

Hosted by Regina Doherty MEP (EPP, Ireland). Organised by BioPharmaChem Ireland and EuropaBio

Why now. European biotech companies still cross the Atlantic to scale; for late-stage capital, for listings, or through an acquisition that arrives too early. Meanwhile, the competition is moving. China’s 15th Five-Year Plan for 2026 to 2030 names life science and biotechnology among eight frontier technologies targeted for breakthrough, identifies biomanufacturing as a priority for industrial upgrading, and sets a research and development expenditure target above 3.2% of gross domestic product.
The European political framework is open at the same time. The Biotech Act is in negotiation as two instruments, a Regulation and a Directive, both tabled in December 2025. EU Inc. was proposed in March 2026, and the Commission is urging Parliament and Council to agree by the end of 2026. On the financing side, Europe is still working in delivering the Savings and Investments Union and negotiating the next Multi-Financial Framework. Biotech Act II, covering industrial biotechnology and biomanufacturing, follows.

Session 1, 11.05 to 11.50 – The gap, the instruments, and what investors look for

Session 2, 12.05 to 12.50. Draghi needs friends: why are we stuck, and what moves first?

Space for this event is limited, therefore attendance is not guaranteed, confirmation of attendance will be sent via email closer to the date of the event.

Event Navigation

Vitamin B2

The biomanufacturing of Vitamin B2 led to the reduction of 75% of fossil raw materials and 50% operating costs, compared to the chemical process. Vitamin B2 is used in the food, feed or healthcare sectors.

Insulin

Insulin is one of the most widely known biopharmaceutical. Biotechnology revolutionised its manufacturing process and led to the development of new types of insulin through r-DNA technology.

Detergents

Enzymes and biosurfactancts are alternative ingredients that improve the performance of detergents, while leading to water and energy savings and reductions in CO2 emissions and water toxicity.

Clothes

Clothes made from alternative fibres produced by microorganisms can be 8x stronger than steel, 100% recyclable, biodegradable and replace fossil-fuel based or resource-intensive textiles.

Algal Omega 3

Algal Omega-3 is an innovative feed product for aquaculture. It reduces the impact on climate change by 30-40% compared to fish oil and saves 60 tons of wild fish for every ton of Algal Omega-3 used.

Cheese

Cheese is a vegetarian product thanks to biotechnology. Biotechnology is also essential to produce lactose- or cholesterol-free cheese, as well as alternative proteins.