Almost 40 industry organizations have signed a joint position paper calling for policymakers to boost competitiveness, resilience, and employment in European biomanufacturing with the EU Biotech Act II.
While the EU’s bioeconomy and biopharma sectors are believed to have contributed over €3 trillion in 2022/23, the paper argues that Europe is the only major global region without its own dedicated biomanufacturing initiative. Meanwhile, global competitors like the United States, China, and India are said to be ‘prioritizing biomanufacturing at the highest strategic level’.
Legislation such as the EU Biotech Act I is thought to be driving progress, but the signatories highlight fragmentation and duplication in the regulation across sectors and Member States. This is believed to slow down the upscaling and deployment of biomanufacturing, weaken the EU Single Market, and limit performance at the regional and export level.
Arguing that the EU Biotech Act I mainly focuses on health, the joint statement hopes to encourage a scale-up from innovation to industrial scale across all sectors. It believes that biomanufacturing should be prioritized alongside industrial biotechnology for materials, chemicals, enzymes, and more.
Policymakers are urged to incentivize expansion and value creation. Companies should also be encouraged to prioritize scale-up investment through an Act that boosts industrial confidence, the paper says.
The signatories assert that the legislation should be market-focused and globally ambitious, targeting long-term growth in biomanufacturing capacity across multiple sectors. It should promote coordination, innovation, market entry and scale in line with the Bioeconomy Strategy and the EU Competitiveness Compass.
Among the signatories are EuropaBio, the Alliance for Biosolutions, the Biocontrol Coalition, the Deutsche Industrievereinigung Biotechnologie, and the European Biosolutions Coalition.
“A Biotech Act II dedicated to biomanufacturing is the missing piece of the puzzle for the EU’s global competitiveness from this vital technology,” said Dr. Claire Skentelbery, director general of EuropaBio. “It is essential that we empower all sectors with a thriving EU market, cutting edge capability and ensuring that it is the logical next investment for companies in our champion sectors. We must create our own destiny for biomanufacturing, rather than watching it being delivered elsewhere and the job is not yet done.”
In a recent edition of the Brief, Packaging Europe took stock of existing and upcoming EU policy designed to improve European competitiveness and industrial independence, from the Industrial Accelerator Act to international tariffs.
Francesca Stevens, executive director of Europen, also featured on the Packaging Europe podcast earlier this year – discussing threats to European competitiveness in light of increasing geopolitical tensions and other factors.
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