Biotechnology has become increasingly prominent in the European agenda. It was cited in the European Commission's Communication on the Long-term Competitiveness of the EU and the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform, leading to the Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative.

For the first half of 2024, Belgium presides over the Council of the European Union, leading the discussion on several European policy initiatives poised to define Europe's biotechnology landscape and the continent's ability to create new products and services. 

Last month, EuropaBio, together with bio.be/essenscia and flanders.bio, hosted the fourth edition of its National Associations Council Presidency Summit, gathering industry experts, policymakers and key opinion leaders to discuss advanced therapies for rare diseases and microorganisms' role in industrial and agrifood applications. (Both session recordings are available online).

Our event report summarises our panellists' discussion with additional input from European Biotechnology National Associations, provides a short policy context, and showcases some recommendations to improve the ecosystem's competitiveness. The report includes an analysis on:

Advanced therapies for rare diseases and relative recommendations on: 

• Improve support and efficiency of technology transfer.
• Simplify regulatory frameworks and improve support – sandboxes, horizon-scanning and HTA.
• Protect Europe's incentives framework for smaller rare disease innovators.
• Establish an EU NASDAQ equivalent for biotechnology. 
• Design novel funding mechanisms and uptake novel pricing and payment models to support healthcare systems' sustainability.

Microorganisms for agri-food applications and relative recommendations on:

• Streamline regulatory processes and risk assessment procedures.
• Develop further policy action on GMOs beyond the NGT proposal.
• Improve cross-border collaboration with Eastern Europe.
• Raise policymaker awareness and improve public acceptance of biotechnology products.
• Ensure intellectual property protection for all biotechnology products.