Innovative mRNA technology has clearly won the race for an effective vaccine against Covid-19 and impressively demonstrated the potential of biotechnology in medicine to the world. The development of vaccines is only a fraction of what biotech is already doing today and what will still be medically possible in the future.
The merging of biology and technology is creating breakthrough innovations that could no longer just treat diseases, but even cure them.
For example, through the use of new technologies such as cell and gene therapies. This is enormous progress for many patients – but at the same time the merger also harbors great entrepreneurial potential. This must be used to strengthen Europe’s economic weight in the world.
In fighting the pandemic, the “old continent” is demonstrating that it has a great deal of know-how in the biotech sector and therefore also a legitimate claim to leadership. Our research landscape is diverse, the state funding for basic scientific research is excellent: almost half of the top 100 life science universities in the world are located in Europe. According to the online portal Statista, twice as many scientific papers are published in the biotech sector here compared to the USA, and three times as many as compared to China.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
24 Nobel Prize winners come from the Max Planck Institutes alone. This shows that Europe is an engine of innovation. The only thing missing is efficient structures to convert the innovative power into promising companies that are able to bring new products to the market. We have enough inventive talent, but we always fail when it comes to commercializing good ideas. Europe is clearly lagging behind other regions here – above all the USA, the largest market for biotech with an annual turnover of just over 135 billion dollars.
The pandemic acted as a catalyst
But it doesn’t have to stay that way. I am firmly convinced that Europe can become a hotspot for biotechnology. To do this, however, we have to change central framework conditions in order to not only celebrate successes in research, but also on the market. The unprecedented rapid development of an mRNA vaccine was only possible under conditions that are otherwise not common in Europe. The pandemic acted as a catalyst and temporarily created conditions like those in Silicon Valley – the most important partners from industry, science, politics and non-governmental organizations were united behind one goal: combating the pandemic.
From this it follows that if Europe wants to exploit its great potential in the field of biotechnology, we need more Californian flair, and above all more courage to take risks. For example, we need the courage of young scientists to leave the research institutions at the university and found companies. We need to cultivate entrepreneurship in Europe, combined with greater tolerance for mistakes. Because it is often setbacks that ultimately lead to the goal.
We should encourage entrepreneurial scientists to set up a company and also support them financially – if only so that they stay in Europe and do not migrate to other countries. In the interest of patients, we need more cooperation in Europe. The cooperation between pharmaceutical and biotech companies, science and regulators works better than ever before in pandemic conditions.
It takes a variety of collaborations
This momentum must now be used and expanded. Concern about health is one of the greatest challenges of our society. For this reason alone, the focus must be more on innovation and product added value, and patent applications for new medicines should be accelerated. This challenge cannot be mastered by isolated individuals or groups; it requires diverse collaborations, not least between pharmaceutical companies and biotech companies.
I have been responsible for more than 200 such alliances so far. Many of these have led to the drugs that are on the market today. For example the drugs Odefsey, Symtuza and Juluca, all drugs for the treatment of HIV. Bayer also relies heavily on external innovations. For example, in the past two years we have closed more than 30 alliances in the pharmaceutical sector and acquired three biotech companies from the USA and England.
One thing is clear: it will not work without risk capital and openness to non-European investors. We must increasingly get venture capital funds worth billions to take on the financing of innovative European companies, including in the biotech sector. An example: The company Moderna emerged in 2010 from an institute for basic research at Harvard University. This was made possible by specialized venture capital funds.
Investment barrier for the biotech sector
According to the current German Biotechnology Report, in Europe in 2020 only 3.9 billion euros came from venture capital in the financing of biotech companies. At the same time, $16.8 billion in European venture capital has flowed into the US. In 2020, 84 biotech companies went public in the USA – there were only two in Europe. We must overcome this imbalance as quickly as possible.
To convince more investors to invest in European companies, we should also develop better innovation narratives. This includes becoming more open to non-European financiers. It is becoming increasingly difficult for them to invest in European companies. The required “clearance certificate” for investors with a stake of more than ten percent who are not based in the European Union is an obstacle to investing in urgently needed capital in the biotech sector.
The success of mRNA technology in fighting the pandemic shows what is possible in Europe when inventiveness meets the right entrepreneurial framework. We must now resolutely seize these opportunities. I am convinced that Europe has the potential to become a leading innovation hotspot. Also because – and not even though – the “old continent” has particularly high ethical standards.
After all, trust in biotech innovations is crucial for their social acceptance and thus also for economic success. There is no doubt: the future belongs to biotechnology – and not only in medicine, but also in many other areas, such as agriculture. It would be an irreparable omission not to exploit this potential for Europe.
More: Biontech starts clinical trial with Omicron vaccine.