Investing in healthy societies by boosting biotech competitiveness

By Gilles Marrache, Senior Vice President, Regional General Manager, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, Africa and Canada at Amgen & EFPIA Board Member

Europe stands at a pivotal moment. To retain a competitive healthcare sector, the EU must move to promote innovation, strengthen its startup ecosystem, and attract global investment in R&D for strategic autonomy.

The start of the new EU mandate presents a revived opportunity to establish a favourable and forward-looking regulatory ecosystem; one that incentivises the development of innovative treatments for European citizens and places healthier, longer lives and prosperity at its core. Biotechnology plays a crucial role in this ambition, developing life-changing medicines and offering solutions for previously untreatable conditions. However, without changes to the regulatory framework, and with the global landscape for innovation rapidly evolving, Europe risks losing competitiveness, missing out on global investment, and slowing the pace of research and development needed to deliver scientific breakthroughs and advance societal health. A new EFPIA report, for example, shows that Europe’s share of clinical trials has gone from 22% in 2013 to 12% in 2023. With the promising agenda signaled by the upcoming Biotech Act, now is the time to unleash the full potential of biotechnology in the EU.

This is an excerpt from a piece originally published on 05 November 2024 in Parliament Magazine. Click here to read the full article.