European Commission and biopharma industry cooperate to improve business environment for sector SMEs

EBE, the European Biopharmaceutical Enterprises and the European Commission's Enterprise and Industry Directorate General yesterday jointly presented at a workshop on access to finance for small and medium-sized (SME) biopharmaceutical companies in the European Union.

The workshop is a major step forward in finding new solutions to support and underpin at-risk European biopharmaceutical SMEs, which have been hit hard by the economic challenges of the global financial crisis. The workshop marked the release of a Commission-funded study on the financing of biopharmaceutical product development in Europe. The study highlights the decreasing levels of venture capital available for biopharmaceutical SMEs, as well as the impact of the global economic crisis on access to liquidities and credit.

Emmanuel Chantelot, executive director of the EBE, said: 'This represents an excellent example of timely and productive cooperation between industry and the Commission. This sector faces challenging times, and it is to the Commission's credit that they have recognized the nature of the problem and are acting with the industry to solve it effectively.'