WRITTEN QUESTION No. 4060/98 by Anita POLLACK Biotechnology companies
Date: 1999-01-13
Institutions: European Parliament, POLLACK
Subjects: EU statistics, European undertaking, biotechnology, large business, marketing, patent, size of business, small and medium-sized enterprises, stock-exchange listing, trade licence













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91998E4060

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 4060/98 by Anita POLLACK Biotechnology companies  


Official Journal C 341 , 29/11/1999 P. 0032 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-4060/98by Anita Pollack (PSE) to the Commission(13 January 1999)Subject: Biotechnology companiesCan the Commission say how many biotechnology firms are registered in each Member State and which are SMEs, which are large firms and which are listed on their stock exchanges?Is it also possible to say how many biotechnology products each of them has gained a licence for and how many are currently on the market?Answer given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission(26 February 1999)The most recent data available show that the total number of biotech companies in the Community in 1997 was 942(1). The types of companies included in this number are start-up companies (1 to 49 employees and founded during 1997) small companies (1 to 49 employees and founded prior to 1997) mid-size companies (50 to 149 employees) and large companies (150 to 500 employees).The breakdown per Member State is the following:>TABLE>As far as small and medium sized entreprises (SMEs) are concerned, the group of small, start-up and medium sized companies shows the dynamism of the biotech industry in the Community.Currently, 61 European biotech companies are listed on various stock exchanges(2) in Europe (London Stock Exchange, Easdaq, Nouveau Marché) and North America (Nasdaq). It is not possible to say for how many biotechnology products each of them has gained a licence and how many are currently on the market. Nevertheless, the following table shows the number of patents granted to European companies by the European patent office (EPO) in 1997(3).>TABLE>The total number of patents granted to European companies in 1997 was 681, compared with 728 in 1996, 673 in 1995 and 726 in 1994.Another indicator consists of the number of products put on the market within the framework of the European legislation. In 1997, the European medicines evaluation agency (EMEA) approved 22 products, of which 11 can be considered as pure biotech products. None of them, however, was developed by European entrepreneurial companies(4). Under Directive 90/220/EEC on the contained use of genetically modified micro-organisms(5), 16 out of 18 approved products were provided by European companies (as of November 9, 1998). Under the Novel Foods Regulation, 5 out of 8 products were notified by European companies pursuant to Article 5 of Regulation (EC) 258/97(6).(1) Ernst &  Young, 1998: European Life Sciences 98: Continental Shift, p. 3. Data for Greece and Luxembourg were not included.(2) Ernst &  Young, 1998: European Life Sciences 98: Continental Shift, p. 11.(3) Source: European patent office, Jan. 99. Type of patents included in the figures: A0IG (horticulture), A01H (new plants), A61K (preparations for medical, dental or toilet purposes), C12N (micro-organisms or enzymes), C12P (fermentation or enzyme-using processes), C12Q (measuring or testing processes involving enzymes or micro-organisms).(4) Source: Ernst &  Young, 1998: European Life Sciences 98: Continental Shift.(5) OJ L 117, 8.5.1990.(6) OJ L 43, 14.2.1997.