Europe’s competitiveness also depends on its ability to attract and conduct clinical trials, where scientific ideas become treatments and much of biomedical innovation’s economic value is created. Faster approvals, harmonized procedures across member states and stronger research infrastructure would make Europe a far more attractive destination for global investment.
Europe also needs an ambitious industrial policy to expand and modernize its biopharmaceutical manufacturing capacity. Research and industry reinforce each other, and advanced therapies, personalized medicine and AI-driven drug discovery require industrial capabilities that Europe must build now.
This is why the forthcoming European Biotech Act matters. If it reduces unnecessary administrative burdens, improves access to venture capital and creates real regulatory sandboxes for advanced therapies, it could send the strongest signal yet that Europe is serious about global competitiveness. This opportunity must not be weakened by half-measures.
Policymakers must now act with urgency: protect and reward innovation, remove barriers to faster access, strengthen Europe’s industrial and research base, and make biomedical innovation a strategic priority.
AI can accelerate the discovery of new molecules, optimize clinical trials and enable more precise medicine, provided it is supported by modern regulation that ensures transparency, data protection and human oversight. The European Health Data Area could be decisive if Europe guarantees interoperability, simplifies procedures, and fosters public trust. Together, these tools can accelerate research, improve data-driven decision-making, and ultimately benefit patients and society.
In an aging society, biomedicine and new technologies are delivering increasingly complex treatments that can also reduce broader public costs, such as those linked to sick leave. Yet healthcare systems remain underfunded and rarely account for the wider social value of biopharmaceutical innovation.
Europe’s biopharmaceutical industry and wider life-sciences ecosystem have enormous potential to invest, innovate and grow. But that potential must be consistently recognized and supported at the European level. Policymakers must now act with urgency: protect and reward innovation, remove barriers to faster access, strengthen Europe’s industrial and research base, and make biomedical innovation a strategic priority. This is not only about competitiveness, it is also about ensuring European patients can benefit earlier from the treatments of the future and that Europe can respond autonomously to the health challenges ahead. The choice is clear: Europe must act now.