The Biotech Act can help create a new confidence, proving that Europe wants to remain competitive in biotechnology, says Belgian life sciences leader Frédéric Druck
Europe remains one of the world’s leading biotech research hubs. It risks, however, losing the economic and industrial benefits of its own innovation unless it can help companies scale, attract investment and keep manufacturing on the continent, according to Frédéric Druck, Secretary General of ‘Bio.be‘ – the Belgian federation representing companies active in the biotech and life sciences industry.
“If you are looking for €100 million at later clinical stages, it is very difficult to raise that in Europe. In Belgium, it would not be possible,” Druck tells Euractiv in this interview, pointing to what he sees as one of Europe’s biggest structural weaknesses in biotechnology.
As Brussels advances the EU Biotech Act, Belgium’s biotech sector sees the legislation as a test of whether Europe can still compete against the financial firepower of the US and China.
NV: Why has the Biotech Act become such a strategic issue for Europe?
