Abstract

EuropaBio’s report Measuring the Economic Footprint of the Biotechnology Industry in Europe is an economic impact study, conducted by the WifOR Institute, aiming to evaluate biotechnology’s contribution to the EU economy in terms of gross value added, employment, research and trade. The recent health crisis has shown how innovation, cooperation and agility enabled the rapid development of life saving treatments and vaccines. Placing biotechnology at the centre of Europe’s ambitious industrial strategy and recovery investments enables the anticipation, prevention, and response for future health threats, delivering a healthy and prosperous Europe. The study establishes the economic impact of production activities from European enterprises applying biotechnology in their research and manufacturing processes and quantifies the impact of the biotechnology industry operating in the (then) 28 Member States, from 2008 to 2018. The data collected in the report confirm the significant economic performance of biotechnology, including direct contribution to GDP and the labour market, plus spill-over effects within European supply chains.

INTRODUCTION

“Our ambition is to have an industry that creates value-added jobs in all regions across Europe. An industry that is driven by innovation, quality and the respect for the environment, rather than by lowering labour costs. Because our industrial ambition does not, in any way, call into question either free competition or our openness to the world. It aims to steer our economy towards innovative value chains that are key to our competitiveness, to channel public and private investments into transformational projects for a green and digital industry, and to support our industry, ecosystem by ecosystem, in this twin transition”. Commissioner Thierry Breton, 11 February 2021.

EuropaBio has published ‘Measuring the Economic Footprint of the Biotechnology Industry in Europe’, a 52 page economic impact study for biotechnology to support the European Industrial Strategy. It was conducted by the WifOR Institute to evaluate biotechnology contribution to the EU economy and labour market in terms of gross value added, employment, research and trade.

The study establishes the economic impact of ...