European biotech RDI incentives need to ensure greater economic growth

European governments must remain committed to biotech research, development and innovation (RDI) incentives as the industry faces fresh challenges of upholding its world leading position of innovation, maintains the biennial report published this week by EY and EuropaBio: Biotechnology in Europe: The Tax, Finance and Regulatory Framework and Global Policy Comparison.

The report was launched at an event in Brussels, alongside the unveiling of the EuropaBio biotech industry manifesto for the new Commission and Parliament term. The manifesto outlines the industry’s leading companies’ ‘wish list’ of policy incentives needed to retain competitiveness in Europe and ensure that innovative products and services have a pathway to the market.

The report’s launch also coincides with the European Commission’s release of its 2014 Innovation Scoreboard, which shows Europe risks becoming the world’s research hub while innovative products, processes- and the jobs and growth associated with their development- will instead go to competitor regions. Despite an improvement in terms of closing the innovation divide with the rest of the world, the Commission’s Scoreboard demonstrates Europe still lags behind individual countries such as Japan, South Korea and the USA.