Brussels, 6 October 2010

Today’s unveiling by Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn and Vice President Tajani, of the Commission’s plans to turn Europe into an ‘Innovation Union’ by 2020 is welcomed by EuropaBio’s members from across the healthcare, agricultural and industrial biotechnology sectors.

“Europe’s biotech industry is at the forefront of innovation helping to provide solutions for longer, healthier and greener lives.” commented EuropaBio Chairman, Andrea Rappagliosi. “Global competition is fierce and Europe needs collective commitments towards fostering innovation through decisive political moves such as the Innovation Union. Europe also needs supportive and coherent policies that foster the growth of key innovative sectors such as biotechnology and that allow us to take the lead on the international scene”.

The choice of Healthier Ageing as the first issue to be addressed within the Innovation Partnerships is a great challenge for all actors in the innovation chain and one that EuropaBio is also keen to tackle.  Amongst the other measures set out in the Commission’s proposal, EuropaBio welcomes provisions to avoid internal market fragmentation, eliminate restrictive interpretation of State Aid for SMEs and to improve more general access to finance for those SMEs. Indeed, whilst there is growing recognition that biotech SMEs are important drivers of innovation within the EU, they still face long and difficult pathways towards the financial sustainability and success that lead to the delivery of the innovative products and services that we seek.

EuropaBio’s Secretary General, Nathalie Moll, concluded: “Europe can only compete on the global innovation scene through quality rather than quantity.  This year for the first time, through the presentation of an award, EuropaBio will honour the most innovative European biotech SME to acknowledge the crucial contribution these enterprises make towards building the ‘Innovation Union’”.  

ENDS.
For further information please contact:

Nathalie Moll

Secretary General, EuropaBio

Tel: +32 2 739 11 71; Email: n.moll@europabio.org

Joanna Dupont Inglis

Communications Manager, EuropaBio

Tel: +32 2 739 11 84; GSM: +32 476 60 71 35 Email: j.dupont@europabio.org

EuropaBio is the European Association for Bioindustries, bringing together bioscience companies from all fields of research and development, testing, manufacturing and distribution of biotechnology products. It has 66 corporate and 7 associated members, 4 BioRegions and 22 National Biotechnology Associations representing some 1800 small and medium sized enterprises.

www.europabio.org