European Commission refocuses efforts to emphasise bio-economy
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
In a mid-term review of the Strategy on Life Sciences and Biotechnology 2002-10, presented by European Commission president Barroso and commissioners Verheugen and Potocnik, a refocus has been proposed to promote a competitive and sustainable European knowledge-based bio-economy. With the recognition that emerging medical technologies are among the sectors that need to benefit from the strategy, the European Commission wants to put a special focus on innovation, research, market development and the debate with society on ethical issues in the field of biotechnology. The Commission recognises that despite many successful European biotech start-ups, EU biotech companies tend to grow slowly and depend on external finance for their research and development.