Biotechnology (BioTech) is a dynamic sector dedicated to transforming various industries, including healthcare, agriculture, and more through advancedbiological and tech innovations. This encompasses the development and application of techniques such as genetic engineering, molecular diagnostics, biomanufacturing, and synthetic biology to enhance medical treatments and create sustainable bio-based products among other things. BioTech is paving the way for a healthier, more sustainable future in the EU by addressing critical challenges and driving economic growth through cutting-edge solutions.
The increasing relevance of BioTech is part of a shift towards sustainability across various sectors. Recent global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and environmental degradation have shown that traditional approaches have struggled to keep pace. This led to a push in BioTech advancements such as in the fields of genetic engineering, molecular diagnostics, and biomanufacturing. BioTech is also relevant to the EU’s ambitions to become net-zero union, due to developments in biofuels.
BioTech has seen remarkable growth in recent history, particularly over the past two decades. This period has been marked by significant advancements in genetic engineering, molecular diagnostics, and biomanufacturing. During this time, the sector has attracted billions of euros in funding, largely from venture capital, driving the growth of startups across the EU. According to Boston Consulting Group, the European Market holds €226 billion in potential.
The COVID-19 pandemic had posed a significant challenge for healthcare and brought to light the many gaps which existed, which was amplified by a shortage of medical supplies. Fortunately, advances in BioTech had been crucial in addressing the issue at its core, with mRNA vaccines produced at a relatively rapid pace, helped reduce mortality rates.
The EU offers several key funding programmes of relevance to the BioTech sector, such as Cluster 1 (Health) and Cluster 6 (“Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment”) aimed at fostering innovation and supporting sustainability. Some notable examples. The European Commission has also recently come out with a number of proposals to boost biotechnology and biomanufacturing in the EU. Among its proposals, it features the creation of and EU Biotech Hub, an operational tool for biotech companies to navigate through the regulatory framework and identify support to scale up, by the end of 2024. It also said it will advocate for the the inclusion of specific challenges on biotech and biomanufacturing in the European Innovation Council accelerator work programme of 2025.
With regard to BioTech projects, AcrossLimits has been involved in the Centre of Excellence for Computational Biomolecular Research (Bio-Excel 2).The project sought to enable scientists to fully exploit the power of data and computing e-infrastructure by providing support to non-experts and advanced users; improving the performance and functionality of key applications; and developing user-friendly computational workflows. It did this to to how crucial computational modelling and simulation techniques have become for life science researchers
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If you have a project idea for which you’d like to make use of funding available to bring it to life, then be sure to get in touch. With 20+ years of experience in funding procurement and participation in over 80 successful EU projects to date, AcrossLimits has a dedicated and experienced team that can help you draft proposals and apply to EU funding opportunities. With our expansive network spanning both the private and public sector as well as academia, we’re in pole position to cater to your needs.
To learn more about how we can help you make your project idea a reality, contact us at: [email protected].
