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EU PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR SMALL BIOPHARMACEUTICAL ENTERPRISES
14 Jun 2010
Marketing & Brand Management
The biopharmaceutical sector remains hugely important to countries across Europe and as such the EU is working to support the industry and guarantee its future.
Although still a relatively small industry in terms of the number of enterprises and employees, it is one of the fastest-growing sectors and stands among the world's most wealth-creating industries.
Studies suggest that there are 2,163 biotechnology enterprises in Europe, excluding large pharmaceutical companies and businesses in the supplying sectors. The industry employed over 95,600 people, including 42,500 in research and development, and generated revenues in excess of €21.5 billion (£18.8 billion) in 2006.
In December last year, the European Commission (EC), together with the biopharmaceutical industry, outlined plans to improve the business environment for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The EC's Enterprise and Industry directorate general, along with European Biopharmaceutical Enterprises (EBE), jointly presented a workshop on the issue, which they described as a "major step forward" in finding new ways of supporting SMEs within the sector who have been hit hard by the global financial crisis.
"This sector faces challenging times, and it is to the Commission's credit that they have recognised the nature of the problem and are acting with the industry to solve it effectively," said Emmanuel Chantelot, executive director of EBE.
Giulia Del Brenna, head of the Commission's Competitiveness unit for Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology, added: "We have a responsibility to ensure that Europe's knowledge economy – especially the biopharmaceutical sector - weathers the current economic climate and we will act to ensure adequate support."
Along with this workshop, a Commission-funded study on the financing of biopharmaceutical product development in Europe, which highlights the decreasing level of venture capital available for SMEs within the industry.
The research found that forty percent of small businesses will need access to capital within the year and the study's authors made recommendations as to how the EU can ensure there is stability in the sector.
They called for the introduction of incentives for smaller players such as tax concessions and European and member state public sector co-investment mechanisms, which would make early-stage biopharmaceutical ventures more attractive.
Also recommended in terms of financial support was the setting up of a European Biopharmaceutical Innovation Fund, which would increase availability and access to venture capital. This would also be used to develop world-class expertise in investing in the sector.
The authors also called for the identification and dissemination of best practice in technology transfer and commercialisation.
In addition to these efforts, a public-private partnership (PPP) between the EC and the industry, represented by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), is working to reinvigorate the biopharmaceutical sector in Europe.
One of the key elements to this is research and development (R&D) and the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), is making €156.3 million available at the moment for businesses. They will be able to put forward research proposals for the discovery and development of medicines relating to nine topics, including cancer, inflammatory and infectious disease.
Arthur Higgins, chief executive of Bayer HealthCare and President of EFPIA, commented: "The IMI is a clear statement that Europe intends to be at the forefront of biopharmaceutical innovation. By accelerating and optimising R&D processes we are trying to remove bottlenecks in the drug development process."
The initiative was launched in 2007 and the budget for projects between 2008 and 2017 is €2 billion, including €1 billion from the European community and €1 billion from the industry.
