Call to defend Belgium's top position in pharma industry in Europe

The latest EU Pharma Figures clearly show Belgium has a leading position within the European Union in terms of biopharmaceutical research and development, production and export, says the sector’s trade group pharma.be in a website posting.

Although Belgium has only 2.6% of the EU population, the biopharma industry accounts for 7.8% of jobs, 18.7% of exports and 19.3% of R&D investments in the EU. This puts the sector in third, second and first place in Europe respectively.

Because of this top position, it is important that the country asserts itself at European level in important dossiers at hand, such as the revision of European pharmaceutical regulations and intellectual property rights. Especially when Belgium is President of the European Council in the first half of next year, the pharma.be stressed.