Brussels, 24 June 2010

 Today, on the occasion of the Association’s Annual General Meeting, EuropaBio is proud to launch a new high-level brief entitled “Europe 2020 and Biotechnology: Creating a Competitive, Connected and Greener Economy.”

The brief was developed in response to the European Commission’s EU Strategy for 2020 which envisages an economy based on smart, sustainable growth – a powerful, ultra-efficient engine driving high levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion. Biotechnology and the EU Strategy for 2020 are intrinsically linked because achieving these ambitious goals requires addressing today’s most pressing challenges, including healthcare affordability, responsible innovation, our ageing demographics, economic instability, climate change, energy security and increasing our global food supply. It also means building a lasting framework that will allow Europe’s industries to prosper and grow sustainably in the worldwide market place and to deal with new crises as they arise.

EuropaBio Chairman, Andrea Rappagliosi, explained: “This new publication outlines how comfortably the biotech industries sit at the intersection of enhancement of addressing unmet medical needs, quality of life, knowledge, innovation, productivity and environmental solutions. EuropaBio and the industries it represents, have every intention of harnessing this powerful technology for the benefit of society in Europe and beyond to help achieve, and possibly even to exceed, the EU 2020 goals.”

Secretary General, Nathalie Moll, added: “Biotech companies, including a multitude of SMEs, represent exactly the type of enterprises that create the high value-added jobs and develop the knowledge-based economy that Europe strives to provide. Encouraging biotech not only helps create economic growth, it provides incentives for responsible innovation and will be critical in enabling our current and future generations of scientists and researchers to provide improved solutions helping people to lead healthier, longer and greener lives”.

ENDS.

Click here to download a copy of “Europe 2020 and Biotechnology: Creating a Competitive, Connected and Greener Economy.”

Click here to download a copy of the new EuropaBio Annual report June 2009 - June 2010

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.