Life sciences & biotechnology for Europe.
Date: 2007-05-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: biology, biotechnology, research policy, scientific cooperation

Life Sciences &
Biotechnology

for Europe

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Jointly edited and published by
the European Commission and the European Patent Office.

Editors: Michael H. Wappelhorst (EC) and Rainer Osterwalder (EPO).

Photos: © www.photocase.de, www.istockphoto.com
3rd edition, April 2007.

LEGAL NOTICE:

Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission 
is responsible for the use which might be made of the following information.

The views expressed in this publication are the sole responsibility of the author and 
do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.

A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the 
Internet. It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu).

Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication.

Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2007

ISBN 978-92-79-05000-8

© European Communities and European Patent Office, 2007
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

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Opportunities in life sciences and biotechnology

The European Commission, which is the executive arm of the European Union 
[EU], the European Patent Office [EPO] and the European Medicines Agency 
[EMEA] are working closely together to support the development of life 
sciences and biotechnology in Europe. In this role they present themselves 
as a “one-stop shop” for anybody who is interested in research and business 
opportunities in Europe. This includes joint presentations at international 
events. The European Union supports research and innovation in life sciences 
and biotechnology and offers opportunities for research, partnering and 
business in Europe.

Europe and the European Union 

European Patent Office 

Joint Research Centre [JRC] 

European Medicines Agency 

European countries 

More information 

4 – 8

9 – 11

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ThE EUROPEAn UniOn

The European Union [EU] presently has 27 member states which represent close 
to 500 million people, making the EU the world’s largest common market and 
leading exporter. Thirteen countries, the commonly known "Euro area" use the 
Euro as common currency - with a 15% share of world GDP in 2005, the euro 
area is the world’s second largest economy after that of the United States.

More info: www.europa.eu

The European Commission 

The European Commission is the executive arm of the European Union and largely 
responsible for managing the EU's common policies, such as research, agriculture, 
trade, development aid, etc. The Commission also manages the budget for these 
policies.

More info: www.ec.europa.eu 

EU support for research in the life sciences 

Through the Seventh Research Framework Programme (FP7, 2007-2013) the 
European Union annually provides about €1 billion in public funds for life 
sciences research. These funds are allocated mainly through competitive calls 
inviting proposals for collaborative R&D projects in a variety of areas like health 
research (including genomics), biotechnology, agriculture, fisheries and food.

More info on thematic priorities:

•

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health Research:
www.cordis.europa.eu/fp7/cooperation/health_en.html

Food, agriculture and fisheries, biotechnology:
www.cordis.europa.eu/fp7/cooperation/food_en.html

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DOinG BUSinESS in EUROPE 

Facts and figures

The European dedicated biotechnology industry directly employs 96 
500 people, mostly in SMEs. Employment in industries that use biotechnology 
products is many times higher. The industry is highly research intensive, with 
44% of its employees involved in R&D activities. In 2004, the 2163 dedicated 
biotechnology companies spent €7.6 billion on R&D. The EU accounted for 
34.8% of biotechnology patents filed at the European Patent Office in 2002-
2004, compared to 41.1% for the US.

According to a Eurobarometer survey in 2006, one in two Europeans believe that 
biotechnology will improve their quality of life. The survey "Europeans 
and Biotechnology" showed widespread support for medical and industrial 
applications of biotechnology, though there was a more negative position on 
GM foods (58% against, 42% in favour). The same survey showed that the EU is 
more trusted than national governments on issues of regulating biotechnology.

Taking goods and services together, the EU and the USA account for the largest 
bilateral trade relationship in the world. The significant amount of bilateral 
trade and investment illustrates a high degree of interdependence of the two 
economies.

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Pharmaceuticals – Europe produces more than 35.8% of the world’s 
pharmaceutical output, worth some €161 billion, making it second 
manufacturing location after the US with 39.3%.

Chemicals – Europe is the world’s largest producer of chemicals, with a 
turnover of around €580 billion accounting for more than one third of their 
production.

Agrifood – with a turnover close to €800 billion, Europe is the world’s largest 
food producer. The US is the largest trade partner in this sector, importing 
€9 billion worth of food from the EU and being a large supplier of agricultural 
raw materials for the EU food and feed industries.

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DOinG BUSinESS WiTh EUROPE

EU strategy on life sciences and biotechnology 

In a mid-term review of the EU Strategy on Life Sciences and Biotechnology for 
2002-2010, the European Commission in 2007 proposed a refocus of actions to 
promote a competitive and sustainable European knowledge based bio-economy. 
Specific emphasis is put on five biotech-specific priority actions:
promote research and market development for bio-based products, 
facilitate knowledge transfer and innovation from the science base to industry, 
encourage informed societal debates on the benefits and risk of life sciences and 
biotechnology, 
ensure a sustainable contribution of modern biotechnology to agriculture, 
improve the implementation of legislation.

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•

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More info: www.ec.europa.eu/biotechnology  
and www.jrc.ec.europa.eu/bio4eu

European bio-economy

Services
34%

Agbio and
Environmental
11%

Biodiagnostics
18%

Human
Healthcare
37%

Distribution of biotech companies by sector in Europe
(Source: EuropaBio, 2006)

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DOinG RESEARCh WiTh EUROPE  

European Research Area
- towards a European knowledge market

The European Research Area [ERA] is the vision to make the most of Europe's 
knowledge potential. The EU's vision is to tap this potential by providing freedom 
for people, infrastructures, organisations, funding, knowledge circulation and 
global co-operation to operate effectively, securing knowledge firmly at the heart 
of society. Challenges are posed by underinvestment in and fragmentation of 
research and the growing globalisation of science & technology. 

To reach the ERA objectives significant resources are mobilised through multi-
annual research framework programmes. Although these R&D funds provided by 
the EU account for only around 5% of the overall public research funds in Europe, 
they are a major instrument to encourage R&D collaborations in Europe and 
beyond. 

More info: www.ec.europa.eu/research/era

international R&D cooperation

Organisations [companies, research institutions and researchers] from all over the 
world are welcome to participate in EU-funded research consortia with Europe-
based partners. Participation from industry [small and large companies] is highly 
encouraged. 

The EU member states link up their research activities with associated countries 
like Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Turkey and Israel, as well as countries with 
science and technology [S&T] cooperation agreements with the EU, such as the 
US and Canada. Essentially, cooperation with European research teams is possibly 
for researchers from more than 100 countries in the world.

More info: www.ec.europa.eu/research/inco

ERA-Link – a network for EU researchers in the US

ERA-Link is a networking tool for European researchers in the US. It provides 
information about research in Europe, European research policy, opportunities for 
research funding, for international collaboration and for trans-national mobility. 

The multidisciplinary network involves researchers at all stages of their careers 
and allows them to become well connected amongst themselves and in Europe, 
ensuring that they are recognized as an important resource for the European 
Research Area, whether they remain in the US or choose to return.

More info: www.cordis.europa.eu/ERAlink

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DOinG RESEARCh in EUROPE

The European Research Council 

The European Research Council (ERC) is the first pan-European funding body set 
up to support investigator-driven frontier research. The ERC, officially launched 
in 2007, complements other funding activities in Europe, such as those of the 
national research funding agencies, and is a flagship component of the 'Ideas' 
programme of the EU's Seventh Research Framework Programme (FP7). Being 
'investigator-driven' in nature, the ERC approach allows researchers to identify 
new opportunities and directions for research. 

ERC grants, totalling an annual average of €1 billion until 2013, will be 
awarded through open competition to projects headed by young and established 
researchers, who are working in Europe – irrespective of their country of origin. 
The sole criterion for selection is excellence. The aim is to recognise the best 
ideas, and retain and confer status and visibility to the brightest minds in Europe, 
while also attracting talent from abroad.

More info: www.erc.europa.eu

Want a scientific career in Europe? 

The 'People' programme, the €4.7 billion portion of the EU's Seventh Research 
Framework Programme (FP7) offers individuals the opportunity to continue to 
pursue a career in research. European researchers are encouraged to stay in 
Europe whilst at the same time the best researchers in the world are attracted by 
research excellence and infrastructures in the European Research Area (ERA). The 
'People' programme builds on the positive experiences of the well-established 
'Marie Curie' actions. The mobility of researchers is not only key to the career 
development of the researcher but also vital to the sharing and transfer of 
knowledge between countries and sectors. Many of the fellowships are open 
to researchers from anywhere in the world - wishing to continue their research 
career in Europe.

More info:
www.cordis.europa.eu/mariecurie-actions 
www.ec.europa.eu/eracareers

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ThE EUROPEAn PATEnT OFFiCE

The task of the EPO is to grant European patents for inventions 
in all fields of technology. The EPO has its headquarters in 
Munich and offices in Berlin, the Netherlands, Austria and 
Belgium. With its workforce of nearly 6 500, the EPO is also one 
of the largest international organisations.

Reaching a market of 540 million people

The EPO is the executive body of the European Patent Organisation. It operates on 
the basis of the European Patent Convention [EPC] which has been ratified by the 32 
member states of the Organisation. The Convention provides the legal basis for all 
activities of the Office and establishes standards and rules governing the treatment of 
patents granted by the EPO. It makes it possible to obtain patent protection in several 
or all member states – depending on the choice made by the applicant – by filing a 
single patent application with the EPO in English, French or German. 

As the European Union and European Patent Organisation are largely identical in 
terms of member states, it is possible to obtain EU-wide patent protection with the 
help of a European patent, although ”EU patents” as such do not yet exist and the 
EPO is not an EU authority. A number of other European countries also recognise 
European patents for their territory. As a result, the European patent now covers a 
market of more than 540 million inhabitants. 

*Others 9,4%

*Others 9,4%

DE 18,4%

DE 18,4%

JP 16,4%

JP 16,4%

US 25,7%

US 25,7%

Europe  48,5% 

US 

JP 

25,7% 

16,4% 

Others 

9,4% 

Europe  48,5% 

FR 5,9%

NL 5,4%

CH 4,0%

GB 3,5%

IT 3,1%

8,2%
AT, BE, BG, CY, CZ, DK, EE, ES,
FI, GR, HU, IE, IS, LI, LT, LU, LV,
MC, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK, TR

FR 5,9%

NL 5,4%

CH 4,0%

GB 3,5%

IT 3,1%

8,2%
AT, BE, BG, CY, CZ, DK, EE, ES,
FI, GR, HU, IE, IS, LI, LT, LU, LV,
MC, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK, TR

US 

Patent applications submitted to the EPO by region in 2006
(total number: 135 200) 

25,7% 

16,4% 

JP 

Others 

9,4% 

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Since its creation in 1977, the EPO has received more than 2 million patent 
applications and granted over 800 000 European patents. Moreover, the Office has 
established itself as the leading authority for international procedures under the Patent 
Cooperation Treaty that makes it possible to file for patent protection in more than 
100 countries on the basis of a single patent application. 

With more than 56 million documents, the EPO’s patent databases are among the 
largest in the world. They can be accessed on the Internet using the Office’s free 
Espacenet server:

www.espacenet.com

high quality patents

The EPO examines European patent applications originating from countries 
all over the world in all fields of technology, including biotechnology and life 
sciences. 

In carrying out its task the EPO strictly applies the European Patent Convention 
and other relevant European law, such as the EU’s Directive on the legal 
protection of biotechnological inventions. European patents are granted only 
after a thorough examination procedure, carried out by three patent examiners 
specialised in the respective technology. This ensures high quality and legal 
certainty standards for European patents. 

The EPC also provides legal procedures for centrally opposing European patents 
within nine months from grant. Moreover, all decisions reached by the EPO and 
its instances can be challenged by an appeal before the EPO’s independent 
judiciary, the Boards of Appeal.

Disputes concerning the validity and infringement of a European patent are 
subject to national law, and the final decision rests with national courts.

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Validity of patents

As in other patent systems, the grant of a European patent does not confer a 
positive right to use the invention without complying with all applicable rules 
of the legal system. The EPO has no regulatory competence, and permission to 
commercialise patented inventions may have to be obtained from the respective 
national and European authorities. Generally, the term of a European patent is 
limited to 20 years from the date of first filing [priority date].

More info: www.epo.org

Medical or veterinary science; hygiene 
Biochemistry; genetic engineering

EU-27

Biotech and life sciences: number of European patent applications 
filed at the EPO in 2006 by region of origin

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JOinT RESEARCh CEnTRE

The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre [JRC] 
provides customer-driven scientific and technical support for 
the conception, development, implementation and monitoring 
of EU policies. It functions as a reference centre of sciences and 
technology for the European Union. Close to the policy-making 
process it serves the common interest of the Member States, 
while being independent of special interests, whether private or 
national. 

The JRC contributes to the implementation of the EU Strategy on Life Sciences 
and Biotechnology. A comprehensive study on the consequences, opportunities 
and challenges of modern biotechnology for Europe and its contributions to the 
achievement of major EU policy goals is available at www.jrc.ec.europa.eu/bio4eu. 

Further activities in the field of biotechnology cover the following areas:

Food, Feed and Agriculture

The JRC is running the Community Reference Laboratory [CRL] for genetically modified 
[GM] food and feed which is involved in the authorisation of GM products and the 
detection of adventitious GM in non-GM material.
Further, the JRC provides quality assurance tools for the detection, identification and 
quantification of GMOs. The JRC supports EU policies on the coexistence of GM with 
non-GM crops and carries out studies on emerging biotechnological applications in 
food production.

nanotechnology

The JRC develops biological/non-biological interfaces and new sensing 
techniques for applications in environment and health. Supporting EU policies on 
nanotoxicity, the JRC develops, validates and harmonises methods for evaluating 
the potential toxicity of nanoparticles as well as for the characterisation and 
toxicity testing of nanoparticles. In addition, it develops quality control tools to 
increase the reliability in measurements at the nanoscale and of nanomaterials.

health-related aspects

Promoting the EU-wide coordination of efforts to ensure the highest quality possible 
of genome-based diagnostic technologies, the JRC gives scientific advice for policy 
actions in this area and delivers quality assurance tools for bioanalysis. 

More info: www.jrc.ec.europa.eu

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EUROPEAn MEDiCinES AGEnCY (EMEA)

The European Medicines Agency contributes to the protection 
of public and animal health by assessing the quality, safety and 
efficacy of human and veterinary medicines in accordance with 
the ‘centralised procedure’ – a European Union procedure that 
allows a medicinal product to be marketed in all EU Member 
States with a single authorisation, granted by the European 
Commission on the recommendation of the EMEA.

The EMEA works closely with the national regulatory authorities for human and 
veterinary medicines of the 30 European Economic Area countries (EU-27, Iceland, 
Liechtenstein and Norway), their 4,000+ experts, and with the institutions and 
bodies of the EU, in what is referred to as the ‘European medicines network’.

The scientific opinions of the EMEA are prepared by its scientific committees: 
the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), the Committee 
for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use (CVMP), the Committee for Orphan 
Medicinal Products (COMP), the Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products 
(HMPC) and, from 2007, the Paediatric Committee (PDCO).

The Agency also cooperates closely with international partners, reinforcing the EU 
contribution to global harmonisation of regulatory standards for medicines.

European Medicines Agency [EMEA] 
7 Westferry Circus, London E14 4HB, United Kingdom
Tel. (44 20) 74 18 84 00.
Fax (44 20) 74 18 84 09

info@emea.europa.eu
www.emea.europa.eu

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European Commission, European Patent Office

Life Sciences & Biotechnology for Europe

Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities

2007 — 16 pp. — 17.6 x 25.0 cm

ISBN 978-92-79-05000-8

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European countries 

European Union

European 
Patent Organisation

Albania

Austria

Belgium

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Croatia

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

Former Yugoslav  
Rep. of Macedonia

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malta

Monaco

Montenegro

Netherlands

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Serbia

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

1  candidate for 

the European Union

2 extension state of the 
  European Patent Organisation

Switzerland

Turkey

United Kingdom

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MORE inFORMATiOn ...

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Brussels

Luxembourg

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...about us:

European Commission (Brussels, Luxembourg) 
www.ec.europa.eu

European Patent Office (Munich)
www.epo.org

European Medicines Agency (London)
www.emea.europa.eu

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